Alien Resurrection: Ripley's Child
by DJ Spacer
Summary: The military are at it again and genetically engineered an offsping/clone of Ellen Ripley, but have they bitten off more than they can chew?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"How is it going doctor?" General William Harris asks as he enters the lab.

"The good news is there is definite cell division in five of the cultures- numbers 4,6,7,10 and 16," Dr. Gregory Waters answers.

"That's better than we had hoped. Use number four for now and put the others into cryo, just in case something goes wrong we'll have a back up," the General orders, then turns to leave. As he reaches the door, he stops and turns back to the doctor. "Is the data on this project still in the standard files?"

"Of course General, why do you ask?"

"Just a funny feeling. I want all the files on this project fully encoded and secured."

"Of course General, but isn't that going a bit far?"

"Maybe. But if any of this leaks out then we'll be in some mighty deep shit. As it is, if things go as we hope it will, then we'll have one hell of a weapon on our hands."

"If anyone else had told me that they had a funny feeling about something, I would have said it was something that they had eaten. Your 'funny feelings' have saved my ass more than just a few times. I'll get the files secured immediately."

"Thanks, Greg, I'll see you later."

THREE MONTHS LATER

"Everything's going quite well general, there's no signs of any mutations or abnormalities what-so-ever. Number Four is proceeding right on schedule."

"I'm glad to hear that Doctor. The extraction setup you designed will be ready in about a week, just before it will be needed."

"That doesn't give my people much time to train on it."

"I know, but it couldn't be helped. Sorry."

TWO MONTHS LATER

"The subject is now fully sedated," an intern announces.

"Good, then we're ready to proceed," the doctor responds.

Laying inside a sealed surgical chamber is the figure of a woman with wavy brown hair. She looks to be in her mid twenties and in a deep sleep. With great care the medical team begin their operation on her as they make a small incision in her chest just above her breastbone. Opening the incision, they reveal a moving, gray-green mass lying just beneath her ribs.

"Get that container ready," the doctor orders as some of the others gasp at what they see.

With the container now in position, they begin to extract the mass from her chest. As one end of the mass is cleared from the cavity, a mouth opens wide revealing some very dangerous looking teeth. This causes more gasps from the medical team.

"Doctor Waters, we'd better hurry, the readings indicate that the subject will be waking very soon."

"This soon? But that's..."

Doctor Waters doesn't get a chance to finish his comment. The woman suddenly opens her eyes and sits up on the table, an action that causes the creature that is inside her to be suddenly- and fully, removed from her. Her actions startle the team and they accidentally release the creature into the chamber with the woman. Then, to everyone's surprise, the woman picks up the creature and looks at it.

"Fuck," the doctor utters just barely under his breath.

"What do we do now, Sir?" one of the interns asks.

"We've got to get her back under and get that incision closed first and then we'll worry about what to do next."

As General Harris comes into the room, he sees that something has gone wrong and is just as shocked as the others at what he sees.

"What the hell has happened?" he demands.

"We miscalculated. She came to a lot sooner than we had predicted."

"What about that thing in there with her?"

"I'm afraid that we'll have to wait until it gets larger General. That should only take a couple of hours. I don't much care for the idea, but we seem to have little choice. I don't see how we can remove it, not while she's holding onto it."

"That thing is dangerous enough at that size doctor. I don't know if we can safely remove it when it gets larger. We might have to destroy both of them."

"She's avoiding our equipment and we can't get her back under. We might be able to close that incision if we can just get her to lay back down. After that, we can worry about removing it.

"As long as she seems to be protecting the creature General, there's little that we can even try."

"Do what you can Doctor, and keep me informed," the General says as he heads out of the surgical unit.

TWO WEEKS LATER

"What do you plan to do now, Doctor?" the General asks.

"I'm surprised that it has taken this long for that thing to grow to this size. There is no record of it taking so long for these creatures to mature and this one still isn't nearly half grown.

"I'm going to move them both into a holding cell and hope that she'll release it long enough for us to trap it and then get her out of there. Everything's ready for us, all we now need is the go ahead from you."

"Then you'll have it. My men will escort you to the holding area Doctor, we'll all hope for the best."

The soldiers watch as the surgical chamber holding the woman and the alien creature is carefully moved from one room into another. Once there the soldiers stand watch, weapons fully at the ready as the General and Dr. Waters follow it inside. Once inside all but the doctor and the General leave.

The doctor opens the chamber and moves away from it as the woman tests the opening. Cautiously she climbs out, the creature staying close to her. So curious is she about her new surroundings, she never sees the doctor approach with the syringe in his hand until such a time as he injects her with a sedative. It quickly takes effect and soon she is unconscious, laying on the floor with the creature staying near her side. As the General approaches them, his is weapon drawn and at the ready, the creature suddenly runs, looking for a way to escape. It makes one mistake though when it runs back into the chamber and finds itself suddenly locked back inside it.

The woman is then taken back down to medical and promptly secured to one of the beds. When she wakes, she begins to struggle at her bonds, looking around at her surroundings, as if she were looking for something.

When the General enters, she settles down as she soon realizes that he is approaching her. Gently he touches her cheek as he looks at her, amazed at the quality of the work that is before him. As he touches her, she calms down even more, as a confused look comes to her face.

"Well Number Four, now we can get to work. I hope you can make us proud of what we are doing here. We have great plans for you," he softly says to her.

Suddenly, a crew of soldiers wheeling the chamber holding the creature enters the room. Seeing this, the woman again begins struggling against her restraints. This time she manages to break free and runs over to the chamber.

In amazement the soldiers and the medics watch as she tries to get at the creature, as well as it trying to reach her. Obviously there is an attachment between them.

"Sir," one of the soldiers begins, "what are we to do with the creature?"

The General thinks for a moment as he watches the woman.

"We keep it soldier. Put it back into the holding cell and release it from the chamber- but do it carefully."

Quickly the soldiers wheel it back out as the General tries to hold onto the woman. She doesn't fight him as she watches them leave but there is a scared look on her face as she looks at the officer holding her.

"Don't worry about your pet Number Four, you'll see it again. I promise."

She settles down and follows the General's directions, sitting back down on her bed. For the first time he realizes that she is still nude. He wraps a sheet around her as they wait for the doctor to come in.

Surprised at her willingness to cooperate, the doctor runs his tests. When he and his men are done, they leave her alone in the room. Once she is certain that she is alone, she cautiously gets off the bed and heads over to a computer terminal, watching the doors as she goes. Once there she begins punching commands and codes, all the while watching the monitor in front of her. It is while she watches the monitor that she happens to see her reflection on the screen. Wanting to get a better look, she shuts off the monitor.

Looking at herself, she becomes distraught, confusion showing on her face. Something is not right and she isn't sure why. Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the men returning and so she returns to the bed.

THREE DAYS LATER

"What's going on Waters?" the General demands as he and several of his men come running into medical.

What greets his eyes is the sight of Number Four choking the doctor and the lab in shambles. The soldiers waste no time in stunning the woman, resulting in her releasing the doctor. With her now down, one of the other medics manages to get a large dose of a sedative into her and soon she is under control.

"Restrain her and get her into a holding cell," the General orders, and then turns to the doctor.

"What happened here Waters?"

"Damned if I know. One moment she's fine, the next has her going for my throat."

"What were you doing?"

"I was just giving her a physical, checking her eyes. I don't understand why she suddenly attacked. There was no cause for it." He answers as he rubs his throat.

"I'm going to have to let command know what has happened, see what they want me to do," he comments as he scratches his head.

"By the way, there has been an unusual amount of use reported coming from your computers Doctor. Have any of your people been on them quite a lot?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. Does anyone's code come up a lot?"

"No, just that these computers are receiving a lot of use lately, nothing else."

As the General leaves, he wonders what has happened with Number Four. Until now she had been causing no one any problems, and the attack on the doctor was so sudden.

"What has happened?" he asks himself. "Maybe she'll become more agreeable if she gets to see that alien in holding." he hopes, still just to himself.

The next day finds the woman in no better of a mood. As earlier, when the doctor enters the room she immediately attacks him only to be driven back by the soldiers using their stun rifles.

"It seems she has taken a disliking to you Doctor," the General says as they leave the cell.

"I agree though I don't understand why. It looks as if she'll have to be kept sedated for now until we figure this out."

"I hate to ruin your day even more Greg, but command has said that we either get her back under control, without drugging her, or terminate her and start again."

"How much time did they give us?"

"They didn't. They did suggest that there might be another way to solve this problem."

"And what's that Bill?"

"One name- Ellen Ripley."

"She's alive?" he asks incredulously. "Damn, we sure don't need her here."

"I agree. Ellen Ripley is bad news and an uncontrollable element. We'll just have to hope for the best and keep working on Number Four. We might be better off if command just has us terminate this part of the project instead of bringing her here."

"If we do have to bring her here, I hope she never finds out what we did to create Number Four, Bill."

"I agree with you on that Greg. Let's just pray that we don't have to bring her in on this."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Callahan▓s. A small bar built on the edge of a backwater-mining town, surrounded by miles of wasteland. The evening has just begun and there isn▓t a lot happening. Very few people are present. What few that are there talk quietly among themselves, conducting business or trying to pick up members of the opposite sex. All in all, it's an out of the way place to expect any trouble.  
Sitting around the bar are several men and a single, solitary woman. Ellen Ripley has made it clear on several occasions that she wants to be left alone, and it seems that everyone is more than willing to do so. Sitting with her back to the doors, she works on what appears to be her third drink. Carefully she watches the mirrors that are on the wall behind the bar that is in front of her, as if she were expecting someone, or something, to arrive.  
When the doors swing open her gaze focuses upon who it is that▓s entering. A smile briefly crosses her face as she sees in the mirrors several soldiers enter. As she watches them, she counts how many there are. Twenty-four in all enter the bar.  
As the last soldier clears the doorway, several patrons begin to leave, quickly. Mixed in with them are two familiar faces- Call and Johner. They time their exit so as not to be obvious to the soldiers, but not missed by Ripley.  
Midway into the bar the lead soldier, a lieutenant, signals for the others to halt. He then looks around checking his surroundings before his eyes settle on Ripley. He then takes a few more steps closer to her, making sure to stay well out of her reach, before he speaks.  
⌠Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, I have orders for your arrest.■ Slowly she turns on her seat, looks at the officer, noting the name ⌠Hunter■ on the front of the uniform, and then looks at the other soldiers.  
⌠Go fuck off,■ she replies coldly, turning her back again to them.  
Reaching for her drink, her eyes carefully watch them in the reflection from the mirrors, studying them with that cold, calculating look.  
With a nod of the officer▓s head the soldiers begin to move. As they move, another smile quickly passes over Ripley▓s face. Her glass is still on the bar with her right hand wrapped around it. The soldiers appear confident as they approach her, their weapons are slung at their sides.  
As the lieutenant closes the short distance between himself and her, she begins to raise her glass as if intending to drink from it. In an instant she spins around in the chair and tosses the contents into the officer▓s face- temporarily blinding him. With cat like reflexes Ripley comes off the chair and is on the attack. Grabbing the officer by his belt and uniform shirt, she picks him up and throws him into the oncoming soldiers. As the soldiers fall, she presses her attack. With no hesitation on her part she wades into the soldiers, throwing them around as if they were sacks of flour, even tossing a soldier out of the front window.  
With the fight now in full swing what few patrons that had stayed now try to make their way out. They have no desire to be part of the chaos that is raining around them. They do a great deal of ducking as soldiers continue to be tossed about, trying to avoid being caught up in the fight.  
Finally, one soldier, a large, heavily muscled man, makes what might be considered a fatal mistake. He manages to get close enough to punch Ripley in the face, and does so. He watches as an evil smile spreads across her face and becomes aware that his blow has had no effect on her. She grabs the front of his shirt and raises her fist to return his blow. As fear spreads through him, he fails to notice the burning in his knuckles, nor the wetness that has appeared on the front of his pants. His eyes are fixed on the look on her face and in her eyes, barely seeing the trail of blood coming from the corner of her mouth.  
She is stopped from delivering her blow by the sudden sounds of several weapons being cocked, almost in unison, around her head. Releasing her hold on the soldier who collapses on the floor and quickly scoots away from her, she looks around at her surroundings. The bar is now in ruins and sixteen soldiers lay fallen on the floor. Continuing to look around, she also sees six soldiers standing just outside arm▓s reach, their weapons all drawn, cocked and aimed straight at her head. A different, almost frightening smile now spreads across her face as she slowly raises her arms away from her body, stopping when they are at shoulder level. With a silent nod of her head in concession, Ellen Ripley surrenders.

General Harris and Dr. Waters watch from the viewing port as the cargo ship arrives in the bay. They wait as the air pressure returns to the bay before heading out to meet the ship. Patiently they wait as the ship▓s ramp is lowered and it▓s sole passenger, wearing restraints and under armed escort, disembarks. Even though she is restrained, it is obvious that no one is taking any chances with her. They don▓t want her getting free. They stop her at the base of the ramp.  
With her history, Ellen Ripley poses as someone to be feared. Her unique biology alone is threatening and her history of action makes her a force to be reckoned with. Though in restraints, she carries herself proudly, with an air of intimidation about her. She would have made an excellent poker player, her face giving away nothing of what might be going on in her mind.  
Once they are stopped at the base of the ramp, the General comes forward with the doctor closely behind him, as well as ten more soldiers armed with electric pulse, or shock, rifles. He looks her over, and then looks at the shape that his soldiers are in. Over half of them carry strong evidence of the battle they had against the lone woman, being badly bruised and scraped. This only helps to convince everyone as to just how dangerous Ripley can be.  
⌠I am General William Harris, commander of this installation,■ he begins to tell her as he gestures to the man at his side, ⌠and this is Doctor Gregory Waters. He is in charge of all science and medical projects here. I welcome you here and I hope you will at least tolerate your stay with us since you will be here for quite a while. We have a... special project that you are best suited to help us with. I hope we can come to count on your cooperation while you are here.■ Ripley hears his words, but her attention appears to be elsewhere, as if drawn to something else. Somewhere in her mind she senses another mind, a mind whose thoughts seem almost human, yet alien as well. As she reaches out towards this mind, she feels it reach out to her, then, suddenly, pull away, leaving her a bit confused and a little surprised.  
With this unusual experience over, Ripley fully realizes that the General has finished his speech. Again she focuses a cold stare his way.  
⌠My cooperation is something that I will consider,■ she begins, letting him know that she has heard him. ⌠Forcing me here though, is most likely one of the worst mistakes that you could have made.■ ⌠You were a chance I was ordered to take.■ Ripley and the General eye each other for a moment before he turns to his soldiers.  
⌠Escort Lieutenant Ripley to her quarters. Let me know when she is secured,■ he orders as he turns to the soldiers that are behind him, then turns back to Ripley. ⌠I will talk with you later, Lieutenant■ The soldiers fall into place, five on each side of her, and escort her out of the bay. Those soldiers who had taken part in her arrest now stand at attention before the General, awaiting his orders.  
⌠I want all of you to report directly to medical before being debriefed. I will fully debrief you when the medics are done and you are all medically cleared. Dismissed.■ The General and Dr. Waters watch silently as the soldiers stow their weapons on the transport ship that they had been on and then file out of the bay. Once they have gone and the bay is silent, the two men begin to talk to each other.  
⌠All right Doctor, after seeing the condition that those men are in, I feel all the more strongly that bringing her here is a big mistake,■ he does nothing to hide his feelings as he speaks to the doctor, but he manages not to yell.  
⌠It▓s not as if we had much of a choice in the matter General. As far as I▓m concerned, it would have been best if Ellen Ripley had never needed to learn anything about this project at all.■ ⌠Command said either we get her here or scrap this phase of the project. We don't have too much of a choice. We▓ve got too much time and work invested in this and have come too far to scrap it just yet.  
⌠But where that woman goes, trouble soon follows. She seems to have a knack for finding it or it finding her. With that in mind I▓m keeping a close watch on her until I am comfortable that she is actually going to help us and is willingly cooperating with us.■ ⌠Once she▓s seen the project then we▓ll know the truth. She▓ll either help us, or slit our throats. Maybe even both.■ ⌠That▓s providing we give her full knowledge of everything that there is about this project, but we▓ll worry about that later Doctor. Right now you▓ve got to see to those soldiers.■

Alone in her quarters, Ripley waits. Sitting on the floor, her hands still in restraints, she searches for the mind that she had felt earlier as well as sensing her environment, searching for anything. She remains that way until such a time as she hears and feels soldiers approaching. Hearing voices outside her door, she rises to her feet and waits.  
First to enter is a pair of soldiers armed with shock rifles. They take up positions on each side of the door. The General enters next and is quickly followed by four more armed soldiers who stay close to him with their weapons trained on Ripley. Under normal circumstances this would have been considered an extreme showing of force, but then, there is nothing normal about their guest.  
⌠Do I make you nervous General, or is this an honor guard?■ she asks.  
⌠Right on the first count Lieutenant, I don▓t trust you. For that matter, if it had been up to me you never would have been brought here.■ ⌠So why did you go to all this trouble?■ ⌠I had my orders. Now, if you will follow me, we▓ll go somewhere where we can talk about this ⌠project■ that we have for you.■ As if on cue, the two soldiers in the back move to the outside of the door as the others clear the way for her. Silently she leaves the room closely behind the General. Once outside they walk side by side with two soldiers in front leading the way and most of the soldiers behind them, weapons at the ready. No one says anything as they go down the corridors, stopping only when they reach the General▓s office.  
Entering the office, the General heads for his desk as Ripley looks around the room. At a glance the office appears very cold and professional with awards, certificates and plaques covering the walls. The only sign of luxury is in the choice of furniture. The desk is made of wood instead of cold metal and the chairs are well padded, covered in what looks like leather. Seated in one of the chairs is Dr. Waters. The General sits down behind his desk and as he does so he indicates to a chair for Ripley to sit in. Unlike the Doctor▓s chair, which is close to the desk, hers is well back and away from both men.  
⌠I see you▓re playing it safe General,■ she says as she sits down in the offered chair.  
⌠As I said before, I don▓t trust you, nor does Dr. Waters,■ he replies.  
Sitting back in the chair, Ripley allows herself to relax slightly. Even in restraints these men still feel threatened by her and that knowledge leaves her with a good feeling. From where she sits she can easily see both men▓s faces. Besides knowing that her presence is unwanted and that they don▓t trust her, she can also see that the Doctor is very nervous about something. His constant changing of positions serving as a strong indication as to just how nervous he is.  
The General however appears to be calm and cool. His body actions do not reveal anything but his professionalism. He is a strong contrast to the Doctor, not only by his actions but in his physical appearance as well. The Doctor being thin, short and pale compared to the General being tall, muscular and in good shape. At least the General looks as if he could last for more that a couple of minutes in a fight against her.  
⌠So, who▓s going to fill me in on this project?■ she asks.  
⌠That▓s my job Ripley,■ the Doctor responds, again shifting in his seat. ⌠When it became obvious that the eighth try at cloning you was going to be viable, a large number of cells were collected and sent to different sites for further testing and developing. ⌠Using genetic engineering we altered some of your human DNA as well as splicing in some different human ones. It was our hope to achieve results similar to you but in a more controllable being.  
⌠The first part went according to plan with five viable embryos out of sixteen attempts. One was selected to be used and the rest were frozen for possible use later.■ ⌠Doctor,■ Ripley interrupts ⌠is this going to be a long story or are you coming to the point of all this?■ ⌠The embryo we chose to use,■ he continues, ignoring Ripley▓s comment, ⌠developed as we had expected. When we went to remove the parasite that was present a problem arose when the host suddenly awoke and the parasite was dropped and took refuge with the host. What we didn▓t expect was for the host to protect the parasite. Since we were unsure how to handle this problem, we tried to keep the host sedated until the parasite was large enough to be easily and safely removed and destroyed. Only a matter of waiting a few hours, or so we had thought. We didn▓t get the host resedated; she managed to avoid our equipment.  
⌠As you might have already surmised, we decided that the first subject would be female, since they usually tend to be less aggressive. She was developed in the same manner that you were. The genetic engineering was done mainly because we did not want another clone of you and the problems that you presented.  
⌠It was our original intention to destroy the parasite. We wanted only the host. Because of your test results we wanted to try to develop a humanoid race for various purposes, including further medical research. The rate at which you heal alone is amazing, and your physical strength is beyond compare. You represent a major advance in humanity.  
⌠Physically she is a mature adult, but there seems to be a problem mentally. She has become increasingly aggressive, very animal like, and has yet to say anything let alone make any type of a sound. She seems to understand what we say to her and cooperates only when heavily sedated. The sedation we found to be necessary for our own safety, as well as for hers.■ ⌠Let me get this straight, you made her but you can▓t handle her. So, what do you want me to do about it?■ Ripley states.  
⌠That▓s correct Lieutenant,■ the General finally joins in with. ⌠When it was discovered that you were still alive it was suggested that you might be able to reach through to her. After all, over seventy five percent of her total DNA came from you.■ ⌠That much huh. What if I refuse to help?■ ⌠Then she▓ll be terminated and we▓ll start again with one of the remaining embryos.■ ⌠And if I agree, but fail?■ ⌠If you agree to help, you▓ll have only three weeks to reach through to her. After that, if you haven▓t succeeded, I have my orders to terminate her.■ His voice is calm and cool, professional in every way.  
⌠What if I succeed?■ ⌠We▓re not prepared to discuss that with you at this time, in case you refuse to help, or agree to help and do not succeed. The choice must be made without the final outcome influencing your decision. You see, we are willing to prepare for the worst. If you do succeed, then we will update you on what we deem is necessary for you to know. Her life, or death will be in your hands.■ Ripley contemplates his words for a few minutes before she does anything. Slowly standing up, she causes the soldiers that are on the inside to bring their weapons to bear on her. Ignoring them, she approaches the desk slowly. Reaching the desk, she rests her hands on its surface and looks the General in the eyes.  
⌠Before I give you an answer I want to see her. Have you given her a name yet, or is she just a file number?■ ⌠Number Four. It was felt that if we gave her a name then things would become too personal, and if it comes to terminating her, a lot more difficult to do.■ ⌠Typical military. When do I get to meet her?■ ⌠Tonight. Both you and Number Four will join the Doctor and myself for dinner in the mess hall. Until then you will be kept secured in your quarters.■ Signaling for the soldiers to come forward, he continues to look at Ripley as if in an unspoken contest of wills.  
⌠I will warn you Lieutenant, at the first sign of any trouble from you, I won▓t hesitate to have you terminated. Despite any orders I might have to the contrary, I will do what I feel is necessary to protect my men and my base.■ ⌠Laying your cards on the table General? Then allow me to do the same. You know my past, and my reputation. You know I will do whatever I feel is necessary at whatever time or in whatever situation that might occur. I don▓t give a damn about your orders or how they are supposed to apply to me. As long as I see a reason to cooperate with you, I will.  
⌠But you remember this, no one fucks with me. And don▓t piss me off with any of your games either, I won▓t be playing them.■ Ripley turns and allows the soldiers, six in all, to escort her out of the office and back to her quarters. Shortly after leaving the office they are passed by a group of people heading in the opposite direction, six armed soldiers and a lone woman dressed in hospital scrubs and bare footed. Her face is downcast and is covered by wavy brown hair that hides her features. With her hands in restraints, and movements appearing sluggish and drugged, she doesn▓t appear to be any kind of a threat, let alone someone in need of six armed guards.  
Ripley pauses as she tries to get a better look at the woman but is gently urged forward by one of her escorts. Looking back over her shoulder as she walks, she tries to keep an eye on the group, guessing that this woman might be the reason for her being brought here. She finally looses sight of them as both groups go around a corner. 


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

As the door to her quarters slides open, two armed soldiers quickly enter, their weapons raised and aimed in her direction.  
⌠Ma▓am, we▓re here to escort you to dinner per General Harris▓s orders. If you are ready, would you please come with us.■ Silently Ripley joins them. How can she refuse their invitation? Waiting just outside the door are two more armed soldiers who fall in step behind the others. Silently they head towards the mess hall, all the while the soldiers' weapons remain at the ready.  
Reaching their destination, they enter the mess hall. Ripley notices that the General, Dr. Waters and the woman that she had glimpsed earlier are already seated at a table. The General is seated next to the woman, who is still cuffed and backed by four armed soldiers. Their weapons are trained on her back. Dr. Waters is seated across from the General and well out of the woman▓s arms reach.  
Ripley is directed to a seat directly across from the woman and next to, but not close to, the doctor. Taking full advantage of her position, she begins to study the woman. Her wavy brown hair still covers most of her face from view and looks as if no one has given her much care. Her eyes, just barely visible through the hair, look brown in color and very dull, almost lifeless. From her appearance she looks to be totally detached from, and unaware of, all that is around her.  
Both men watch as Ripley looks the woman over, remaining silent as she does so. Neither man seems willing to distract her.  
⌠Well,■ the doctor finally says when he thinks that Ripley is done ⌠what do you think of our handiwork?■ ⌠I think you▓re too damned pleased with yourselves,■ she replies.  
⌠It really doesn▓t matter to me what you think of us Lieutenant,■ the General says to her. ⌠Her fate is now up to you. You▓ve met her and now have twenty-four hours to make your decision. Any longer and we will automatically be forced to terminate her and then we▓ll start again.■ Ripley▓s eyes return to the woman as she pushes the food tray away from in front of her and tries her best to lay her head down on the table. Realizing to what degree they have gone to in order to keep this woman under control, Ripley feels herself growing angry, and fights to keep it hidden from the men and under control.  
It is the General▓s next action that takes her totally by surprise. With hair still covering the woman▓s face, he reaches over and moves it out of the way, allowing for a clearer look at the woman▓s face. This surprises Ripley for it seems so out of character in comparison to how they have been talking about her. Looking more like something a father would do for his child when it falls asleep at the table, not how one would treat an adult or lab experiment. Could it be possible that he just wants to be sure that Ripley gets a good look at the woman▓s face? Silently he gestures to the soldiers behind the woman. Coming forward, two soldiers gently bring her to her feet and then take her out of the hall. Ripley watches as she, just barely able to stand on her feet, is led out by the armed soldiers. Ripley is confused by the care and gentleness that everyone is showing her. Nothing is said by anyone until the woman is gone.  
⌠I don▓t believe this,■ Ripley states. ⌠You both talk about her as if she▓s some sort of lab animal but you▓re treating her like a favored child.■ ⌠We have our reasons, Lieutenant,■ the General replies coldly, his tone of voice stopping this line of conversation.  
⌠Any clues as to what memories she might have inherited?■ Ripley asks, noting the General▓s tone of voice, and so tries to change the subject.  
⌠None,■ the Doctor begins. ⌠We know that you received memories passed on at the genetic level but not the full extent and content of them. She though has never uttered even a moan or any other sound, so we have no idea what she might have received. We do know that she has your strength as well as acid based blood similar to yours, but that▓s about the extent of it.■ Ripley ponders this for a few moments, weighing their words against her experiences before continuing.  
⌠How long has she been conscious?■ ⌠Twenty-eight days Lieutenant, why?■ asks the General.  
⌠Well, they had me talking after about four or five days from when I fully came around.■ ⌠We are well aware of the progress that you made, that is up until the time we lost the Auriga. What we don▓t understand is why Number Four isn▓t speaking. We can find no medical reason for it- she is not deaf and there is nothing wrong with her vocal cords.■ ⌠Maybe she just doesn▓t want to talk to any of you.■ With a look to each other, the men pause. Seeing that they are thinking on what she has said, Ripley watches them carefully for any sign that she might be right.  
⌠There is a chance that you might be right, at least as far as I▓m involved,■ the doctor says. ⌠As it is, she goes out of her way just to attack me.■ ⌠She probably knows you▓re the one who created her.■ ⌠That would be highly unlikely Lieutenant. Number Four has had no computer access and all files pertaining to her, and to the project, are in the computer system only, and under a secured access code. No access, so she can get no knowledge or information on the project what so ever. I believe she is aware that she is different, but that is all she might know.■ ⌠Sometimes general, knowing that much is more than enough. Now, what happens next?■ ⌠You get to know her better. You▓ll be spending the night with her in her cell. With the shape that she is in right now she▓s no threat to anyone, let alone to you.■ ⌠If you▓ve been straight with me about her, then I wouldn▓t be placing any bets on it General, you▓ll loose.■ ⌠Enough Lieutenant, if you are ready, I▓ll escort you to your ┘daughter.■ Ripley raises an eyebrow at his choice of words, somewhat surprised at what he has said but chooses to remain silent on the matter.  
⌠Lead the way General. I▓ll follow- for now.■

Ripley, the General, and six armed soldiers continue silently down the corridor, stopping at a door very near the medical unit. The soldiers wait patiently as the General opens the door, then signals for Ripley to come forward. As she enters, she notices that their weapons are aimed inside the room and no longer at her.  
Stepping up to the General▓s side she looks into the room. She sees the woman, still in restraints and barely on her feet, standing against a far wall, swaying slightly as she does so. To Ripley▓s eyes she looks as if she were using all that she has in her, as if performing an act of pure defiance.  
The open look of amazement on the General▓s face tells Ripley quite a bit. The woman before them appears to be stronger than he had expected and he looks as if he is wondering what will happen next. Unsure as to her state of mind and level of alertness, he is curious how she is managing what he now sees.  
The lead soldiers enter first, taking up positions at both sides of the door. Only when they are in place does the General and Ripley enter the room followed closely by two more soldiers. The last two take post on the outside of the door, keeping their weapons trained on the woman.  
Ripley and the General are just barely inside when Dr. Waters enters the room. At the sight of him a noticeable change comes over the woman. Raising her head high, she looks straight at the Doctor. Her back straightens as well as her stance. Though still shaky on her feet, it is obvious that he has her full attention.  
Unsteadily at first, she begins to move. As she advances, her steps become steadier and her target becomes clear, she▓s after the Doctor. With a final surge of energy she attempts for him but is cut short by a blast from a stun rifle. Going down to the floor she tries once to regain her feet but finally collapses into unconsciousness, face down on the floor. Quickly the Doctor goes over to her and rolls her onto her back. He checks her pulse and breathing carefully before he again stands, then goes over to the soldier that had fired on her.  
⌠Private,■ he begins ⌠what setting is your weapon at?■ ⌠Sir, as per orders, the lowest possible setting,■ he replies as he shows his weapon to the doctor.  
⌠Thank you private,■ he says with a note of concern in his voice.  
Everyone can feel and hear the Doctor▓s concern at this information. Ripley▓s mind quickly goes back to the time when she too had been hit by a stun rifle - and it had been set on full force. It had hit her hard, sending her to the floor as well, but she had never lost consciousness.  
⌠How bad is she Doctor?■ Ripley hears the General ask.  
⌠Not too sure, but it▓s hard to tell with her,■ he replies as he completes his examination of her.  
⌠Damn it, she wasn▓t hit that hard.■ Finally the Doctor stands and goes over to Ripley.  
⌠Normally I would have her moved to medical and restrained, so that I could watch her. With you here tonight I▓m leaving her here, and you can watch her. It▓s probably better for her not to be moved anyway, it could be enough stimulus to wake her before she▓s ready to. She might wind up seriously hurting herself in the process.■ ⌠Lieutenant,■ the General adds. ⌠I▓ll leave two guards just outside the door. If she gets worse, or a problem comes up, then notify them and they▓ll get one of us. Any questions?■ ⌠Just one. How about removing these restraints from both of us? She▓s obviously no threat right now, and I can▓t care for her in the way that she might need me to like this,■ she says as she holds out her wrists.  
Nodding his head, the General signals to a nearby soldier who hands his weapon to him and then goes over to Ripley. As he begins to remove her restraints the other soldiers train their weapons on her. When he is done, he then removes the restraints from the woman. When this is finally done and both women unrestrained, they all quickly leave the room, backing out with their weapons still on Ripley until they are out of the room and the door is shut.  
Alone now with the woman, Ripley sits down beside her. Looking at her and at how pale and still she is, Ripley finds it hard to believe that she is even alive. Reaching over she checks the woman▓s pulse for herself, finding it weak but stable. Moving a bit off, putting a little distance between herself and the woman, she collects her thoughts. Running her hands through her hair and pushing some out of her face, she carefully looks at the woman.  
Even unconscious the woman▓s face looks troubled. Her wavy brown hair is a mass of tangles, giving her a wild look. Physically she looks to be in good shape and approximately in her late twenties or early thirties. But it is her troubled look that has Ripley wondering about her. As Ripley looks at the woman, she moves closer to her and then lightly moves some of her hair away from her face, finding that there is something vaguely familiar about her looks.  
Memories come to her of waking on Gateway Station and of the search for her daughter Amy. She remembers the reports on her life and her death as well as some photos that were with it. She is bothered by this and does not understand why she is remembering all this now. Quickly she buries the memory and tries her best not to let it affect her.  
Curiosity and animal instincts finally come into play as Ripley moves closer to the woman▓s side and, taking one of her hands, noting how cold it feels, looks it over carefully and gently. Like Ripley, her nails have a metallic appearance. Next she raises the hand to her nose and smells the palm. A look of sorrow crosses her face as she lays the hand back down, noticing that the woman never stirs during the whole thing. With little else to do, Ripley sits there and thinks on what she has been told. So far it seems that the men have been honest with her about the woman and that, at least on a genetic level, they seem to be related.  
Suddenly, Ripley reaches over and pulls up the bottom of the woman▓s shirt. Looking over the woman▓s chest she stops just over her heart and finds what she had been looking for- a six-inch incision scar, somewhat jagged but fully healed. She is vaguely aware of a tear escaping from one eye as she returns the top to its original condition, wipes the tear away, then lies down near her.  
⌠They did it,■ she says softly to herself, then, in a slightly louder voice. ⌠God damn it, they really did it.■ Then, thinking to herself, ⌠Now, how long ▒til all hell breaks loose?■ 


	4. Chapter 4

Ripley wakes the next morning finding herself laying back to back with the woman as she hears the door being opened. Rolling slightly away from the woman, she moves into a sitting position facing the door and watches as several armed soldiers enter. She counts six men come in and senses more on the other side of the door. It comes as no surprise to her that their weapons are aimed at both her and the woman, who is still unconscious.  
"Please move away from Number Four ma'am," one soldier instructs.  
Without saying a word Ripley stands up and moves over to a far wall. As she moves the soldiers keep weapons trained on her the whole time, ignoring the woman on the floor to a small extent. Once the soldiers are comfortable with the distance, one soldier goes over to the woman and tries to wake her. Despite his best efforts she does not respond. Worried about this, the soldier leaves the room, returning after a short time.  
"Might as well have a seat ma'am," he tells Ripley, "it looks like we might have a bit of a wait before we leave."  
Without looking away from what is before her, she complies and sits down on the floor. The wait isn't too long, shortly more people enter the room. Dressed in green scrubs and white lab coats she guesses them to be a medical team. The fact that they have brought a gurney with them only helps to confirm her suspicions.  
Going over to the woman they gather her up and place her on the gurney, with a soldier restraining her to it. All the while this is happening, she never gives any indication of even being slightly aware of what is being done to her, never moving in any way.  
Two other soldiers then go over to Ripley. Their intent is obvious- one is holding another set of restraints. Offering no resistance, Ripley allows them to be put on her, curious as to what is going to happen.  
When both women have been secured, the General enters. He talks briefly and quietly with two of his men then stands aside as the gurney is taken from the room. Once the gurney is gone, he then signals for his men to follow it. With a nod of his head in her direction, Ripley follows them out with the General and a few more men bringing up the rear.  
Still unsure as to just what is going on and as to where they are heading, Ripley continues to cooperate with them. As they walk, her thoughts are on the woman. She knows that something has gone wrong, but with what little information that she has been given and was able to gather, she can only guess at what it might be. It comes as no surprise to her when they reach their destination and find that it's the medical unit.  
With four armed soldiers moving in around her, she allows herself to be escorted over to a far wall. From there, she watches what is happening. She finds that she is too far off to hear their soft conversations, and cannot clearly see the readings on the monitors. Having no other choice, she waits quietly until they are ready to let her know what is happening.  
An hour passes as the medics examine the woman. Finally she sees Dr. Waters take the General aside and talk to him in private. From time to time she notices them look her way but can only guess why. When they are done, the General leaves the Doctor and comes over to her.  
"I know I gave you twenty four hours to make your decision Lieutenant," he says directly to Ripley, "but the situation has changed. I need your answer- now."  
Without saying anything Ripley slowly moves away from the wall, a signal from the General stops the soldiers from preventing her actions as she goes over to the woman. Still in restraints, she looks at the woman, then reaches over and moves a bit of hair from in front of her face. For a moment she rests the back of her hand on the woman's cheek, feeling how cold she is. As she touches her, the woman's eyes open briefly.  
With her now open eyes, she looks at Ripley as Ripley's mind becomes filled by the sound of two voices speaking in unison.  
"WHY HAVE YOU COME?"  
In shock and surprise, Ripley backs away from her. One voice is child like while the other is of a more mature nature in sound, but both were clearly heard by her. She continues to look at the woman, who is again unconscious, as she tries to regain her composure. When she feels enough in control, she turns to the General.  
"Okay, General, I'm in," her voice still sounding a bit shaky as she speaks.  
"Thank you Ripley," he says to her, not using any rank this time, thanking just her.  
"I have two questions," she says as she fully regains her composure. "One, what would have happened if I had said no?"  
"Then Number Four would have been dead within the hour. Waters told me she's dying from the sedatives and from something else that he can't find. He said that she might last maybe four or five more days what with the shape that she's in right now. Because of this he's already stopped sedating her, but feels that it won't be enough. Knowing this, if you had said no then it would have ended here and now, with her termination. Then we try it again."  
"Okay. Next question- when do I loose the jewelry?" she asks as she holds up her wrists.  
With a nod of his head, one soldier gives him his weapon and then goes over to Ripley and removes the restraints. Once they are off, she rubs her wrists as if confirming that they are actually off. The soldiers bring their weapons to bear on her as she does this.  
"I'm going to trust you not to cause any problems for us Lieutenant, now that you have agreed to help," he says to her.  
"No problems General, at least not for now."  
"Then we'll leave Number Four to the medics. You might not be in restraints any longer Lieutenant but you will still be guarded. I will only trust you just so far."  
"It's not me you should be worried about general, but the Queen that you removed from her. I know that she's still alive," she says indicating towards the woman on the gurney.  
"I had it destroyed," he says flatly.  
"I don't believe you General, I can still feel her."  
"Then you're feeling your daughter. I saw to its destruction myself."  
"Damn it General, I warned you about playing your games with me," though not really yelling, Ripley's voice is loud enough for all to hear clearly.  
"I know the alien is still alive. She's too valuable for you to kill, besides, you military assholes aren't smart enough to leave fire alone."  
"All right, it's still alive, but I don't buy your story of being able to feel it. So tell me, how did you know?"  
At this admission Ripley calms down and lowers her voice again.  
"I told you, I can feel her, in my mind. I felt her as soon as I got off the ship. I also know you have been using her to help control your so called project, so it makes no sense to destroy her, seeing how you still might have a need for her.  
"One more thing General, remember the old saying 'Like mother, like daughter'? Well, for your sake I hope it doesn't hold true."  
"I'll agree with you one that one. The last thing that we need is to have two Ellen Ripleys to deal with. One is more than enough. Now, shall we get something to eat?"  
"After you, General," she says with a smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

It's a long time after lunch when the General finally begins to give Ripley a full tour of the base. He leaves very little out, hoping that, somehow, the knowledge might be of some help to the project. Their last stop is back in medical.  
He escorts her into a dimly lit room and has the guards wait outside. He then leads her over to a wall and dims the lights further. With the lights down to a level where they're almost out, he opens a panel, revealing another room visible through what seems to be a two-way mirror.  
Looking into the other room Ripley is mildly surprised at what she sees. Clearly she sees the woman, who appears to be awake but not in full control of herself, and an alien Queen. At least she thinks it is a Queen.  
This Queen appears to be very different from the others that she has encountered. Standing upright, it looks to be somewhere between six or seven feet in height, almost as tall as the warriors. Looking harder, she can see that it has five fingers on its hands and notices that there is something different about it's skin, not so shiny. The only thing that helps her to believe that it is a Queen is the shape of the creature's head.  
Knowing that at least twenty-eight days have passed since the extraction, Ripley knows that she should be full grown and laying eggs. Between this knowledge, and seeing her height, or rather lack there-of, she begins to wonder just how much this Queen has been affected by the genetic crossing and if there are other changes that are not so easily seen, ones on the inside.  
"What went wrong?" she asks quietly as she continues to watch the scene before her, confused and amazed at what she sees before her.  
"We're not sure, but strongly suspect the same genetic crossing that had affected you has affected both of them also, only somewhat differently," the General tells her. "As strange as it may seem, the creature is extremely docile when it's alone. When Number Four is with it, it becomes very protective of her and no one other than myself can go in there and take her out. I don't understand why it allows me to do this, but I'm not going to complain."  
"You're right. I do find that very hard to believe, but then, so is what I'm seeing now. This is so totally out of their character, to allow any species other than their own to even get near them." "It's getting late Lieutenant, we'll talk more tomorrow. For now you'll go back to her cell. She'll be there shortly and the two of you can get to know each other a bit better, I hope. But watch your back. We've stopped sedating her and she has proven to be quite the fighter."

Alone in the cell, Ripley uses the time to think. Pacing back and forth, running her hands through her hair, she wonders as to just what she has gotten herself into. Things have changed, are still changing, and she has no idea as to where this will all end.  
Originally she was just going in to try to end the project as best as she could, not help it along. She was fully aware of what was happening with the woman as well as the problems they were having with her. She is also well aware of the orders for her termination. Content in letting things run it's course, she was not going to interfere or help the military in any way. At least that had been the plan.  
Now she finds that she has agreed to help them with the woman for reasons she doesn't fully understand and is not sure about. Something had touched her, perhaps her memories of Amy and Newt. The woman had looked so vulnerable cuffed to the gurney. Maybe the sight of the woman looking so helpless had touched her. No longer doubting the relationship that the General had told her about, maybe she feels a kinship of sorts with the woman. Knowing that there is someone like herself alive, something that has been missing in her new life.  
Her thoughts, and pacing, are finally interrupted by the sound of the door to the cell being opened. Automatically moving to the back of the cell, she watches as the soldiers bring in the woman. Noticing that she is still in restraints and that the soldiers have their weapons at the ready, Ripley realizes that they are taking no chances with her. Still somewhat unsteady on her feet, she walks into the cell, stopping just a few feet inside the door.  
Ripley remains against the back wall until the soldiers are gone and the door is closed, then slowly moves towards the woman. The woman watches her advance but does not move from where she stands, swaying slightly on her feet, but keeps her eyes on Ripley. Unsure as to what to say, Ripley smiles and softly greets her, speaking words that she hopes will not scare her. Both women keep a watchful eye on each other, each looking curiously at the other.  
When Ripley has closed the distance between them to less than four feet, the woman does something totally unexpected, considering her condition and facial expression- she suddenly attacks Ripley, knocking her to the floor. Easily, Ripley throws her off and is back on her feet only to face another attack. Expecting this, Ripley side steps out of the way at the last moment, causing the woman to run into a wall.  
With little time to think clearly, Ripley finds herself again under attack. When the woman gets close enough this time, Ripley grabs her by an arm and throws her to the floor. Quickly the woman regains her footing and again rushes Ripley, only to be thrown to the floor again.  
"Damn it! I don't want to hurt you!" Ripley yells as the woman again stands and begins towards her again.  
Realizing that more drastic actions need to be used, Ripley does so. As the woman closes in Ripley again side steps and, at the same time, throws a mild punch into the woman's stomach and quickly backs away from her. This drops her to her knees for a moment, but she quickly stands and attacks again. Again Ripley throws a punch to her stomach, only slightly harder this time. Again she goes down to her knees as well as onto her cuffed hands, looking as if a lot of the wind has been knocked out of her.  
"Be smart kid, please stay down. Don't do this," Ripley pleads to her.  
From her position on her hands and knees she looks up at Ripley. Ripley can see no anger, fear or hatred in the woman's face, only sadness and tears. Confused by what she sees, Ripley watches as she begins to struggle to her feet once more.  
"Shit," Ripley softly swears as she watches the woman's efforts.  
Fearing that the woman won't be able to take too much more, Ripley changes her tactics. Quickly getting into a position behind the woman, she drops down behind her and grabs her arms in one swift smooth move. Pinning her arms behind her as best as she can, Ripley tries to prevent her from attacking again.  
"Why are you doing this?" she says softly into the woman's ear but does not get an answer as the woman struggles against Ripley's firm grasp.  
Ripley keeps her grip firm on the woman as she continues to struggle against her captor. It quickly becomes obvious to Ripley that the woman doesn't have much fight left in her as she feels the woman growing tired, her struggles growing weaker. Even after she has stopped her struggles, Ripley continues to hold on to her in case she is trying to fake her out. While she holds the woman, her thoughts return to an earlier time, a time when she had held on to a frightened Newt until she too had calmed down. It is only when the woman's breathing becomes smooth and even that Ripley relaxes her hold and carefully lays her on the floor.  
Finally accepting that the woman has fallen asleep, Ripley stretches out on the floor at what she feels is a safe distance. She hopes that she will be in a better mood when she wakes in the morning. As she drifts off to sleep, images of Newt and the alien newborn fill her mind, as well as other scenes from her past, most likely brought on by her recent struggles with the woman.


	6. Chapter 6

Waking, Ripley finds that, during the night, either the woman or herself has closed the distance between them, finding that she is again back-to-back with the woman. Sensing that the woman is still sleeping, she carefully moves away from her, not wanting to wake her. Once clear, Ripley stands and stretches, looking over at the woman. As she looks at her, she wonders if she will wake in a better mood or want to continue the fight. One thing that Ripley notices is that her face finally looks peaceful and wonders at the change.  
Again the memories of her daughter- Amy return. Now though, she understands why. As she looks on the woman's face she can see a resemblance. It is a weak one at best, but serves as a strong enough image to cause her to remember her daughter and the promise she had made to her a lifetime ago.  
The woman continues to sleep however, at least until such a time as the door to the cell opens and the soldiers enter. As she wakes the woman looks around, almost in a panic and in an obvious state of confusion, calming only when she sees the soldiers. Offering no resistance and being aware of the restraints, she allows them to help her to her feet, then lets them escort her out.  
Not knowing what else to do, Ripley stands against a wall and waits.  
"Ma'am," one soldier says to her as he turns and faces her "the General has requested that you both join him for breakfast. If you will please follow us."  
Silently Ripley joins them, carefully noting the location of each soldier. Four soldiers each armed with weapons at the ready and aimed at her surround the woman. Ripley also notices that she too is being guarded, but only by two soldiers. Their weapons are also drawn and aimed at the woman, not at her. She takes it as a small showing of trust from the General.  
When they reach the mess hall doors and they open, Ripley sees the woman suddenly stiffen. Judging by her actions, Ripley suspects that Dr. Waters must be present. Softly saying no, she quickly closes the distance between herself and the woman, preparing herself for what she thinks might happen, not realizing that the soldiers are allowing her free movement.  
Standing just behind the woman and slightly off to one side, Ripley can see that her guess is right. Waters is there, sitting across from the General. She sees them both watching the doors as they enter.  
As Ripley had suspected, when they are through the doors the woman begins to quicken her pace. Looking at how she is moving, Ripley can tell that a large amount of the drugs are now out of her system. Being prepared for her to act, Ripley stands at the doors and speaks out in a loud strong voice.  
"Don't do it, Kid."  
As if hit with a ton of bricks, the woman stops dead in her tracks. With a confused look on her face she looks over to Ripley.  
"I can't let you attack him. Now, sit down and quit acting like a little bitch."  
Ripley's voice is cold and hard and there is a look in her eyes that says she means business. The woman gives her an angry, confused, look before she slowly complies with Ripley's order. A soldier then cautiously escorts her over to the General's side at the table as Ripley goes over and sits next to the Doctor.  
"You might not like me and right now I really don't give a damned either way. There is one thing I will tell you here and now, if you ever hope to kick my ass or anyone else's then you are going to have to get stronger. That means you have to eat something. Right now I doubt you can stand up to any one of these soldiers for very long, let alone last against me. Do yourself a favor, eat something." There is no anger in Ripley's voice only a tone that says she means what she is saying.  
The woman thinks about what Ripley has said, then looks at the tray before her. As before there are no utensils near her and with her hands still in restraints, none are easily accessible. So, as if in direct defiance of what Ripley has told her to do, she pushes the tray away from in front of her, then stands and leaves the table. Leaning against a far wall, she looks at Ripley, as if daring her to do something.  
Calmly Ripley gets up from the table and goes over to the woman. Standing directly in front of her, Ripley looks into her eyes. Suddenly, Ripley backhands her across the face, sending the woman to the floor. There is no anger in Ripley's face as she does this, only a cold indifferent stare. Then, reaching down, she grabs one of the woman's arms as the men watch in stunned silence. Easily lifting her up and back onto her feet, Ripley returns her to the table and into her chair, and then returns to her place next to the Doctor. Sitting directly across from the woman, Ripley notices the mixed look of surprise and confusion on her face.  
"Maybe we should proceed slower Lieutenant. Allow her a chance to get used to the changes." There is genuine concern in the General's voice.  
"Your kid gloves treatment wasn't working General," Ripley looks at him as she speaks, "so you went and had me brought here to clean up your mess, straighten things out with her and that's what I'm doing. If she won't eat then she'll be returned to her cell and nowhere else." Ripley then turns and faces the woman.  
"Like it or not Kid, I'm calling the shots as far as you're concerned. So if you want to do anything, and that includes seeing your alien Queen down in medical, then you had better start listening to me. Now- eat!"  
The General and the Doctor sit in stunned silence, their shock growing when they see the woman slowly pull the tray back to her and begin to eat with her fingers. After a while, though she doesn't eat everything in front of her, she does eat enough to satisfy Ripley.  
"I guess she's eaten enough for now General." Ripley says when it is obvious that the woman is done. "Let her spend some time with her alien Queen."  
With a nod from his head, four soldiers go over to the woman, who has already come to her feet, and lead her out of the hall. Once she is gone the General's attitude changes quickly, showing his anger.  
"Damn it Lieutenant. We didn't bring you here so that you can use Number Four as your personal punching bag!" he yells, then continues in a quieter voice. "We had hoped she would respond to you because of your relationship to her, not because you're stronger than her and can bully her around."  
"Blood being thicker than water, General? I know you were monitoring us last night so you saw how she responded to me, by attacking me, not my attacking her.  
"I believe she needs a reason to want to live, something I suspect she hasn't gotten from you. Well, I've just given her one. Anger and hatred might not be the best reasons to want to live, but all of you were killing her with kindness- literally.  
"Judging from the look on her face when I forced her back to the table she probably wanted to try to kill me right then and there. I think the only thing that really had stopped her from trying is that she knows she can't beat me at this time."  
"General, I'm afraid Ripley's right." the Doctor says and in defense of her actions as well. "She seems to need something to want to live for besides seeing her alien. Where as this might not be the wisest, and most certainly not the safest, course of action, it has been known to work."  
"Damn right it will work," Ripley adds. "Besides, she chose the course of action, not me."  
"That sounds a lot like 'she started it' to me Lieutenant," the General says sarcastically.

Alone with the General in his office, Ripley paces the floor. Patiently he waits until she is ready to sit and talk. Obviously something is bothering her, but he is not sure what it might be, and hopes that she might be willing to share her thoughts with him. When she does finally sit down, he notices that she looks as if nothing has been resolved inside herself, and feels that he must continue with caution.  
"I would like to know where you are going with this tough routine and just how far you plan to push it," his voice is calm as he goes straight to the point, hoping not to anger her.  
"As far as I need to. You assholes seem to have fucked things up totally with her. You've asked me to clean up your mess, and you've given me only three weeks to do so in. Since you have no idea what the hell you're dealing with, then leave me alone to do as I see necessary," she responds, with no trace of anger in her voice.  
"Look Lieutenant, we might not know much about the life form that you and her have been merged with but we do know human nature. The original Ellen Ripley was a mother and I had hoped that you would respond to her in that manner."  
"Whether or not I was a mother in my past has no bearing on what is going on now. She's not a child- anyone can see that. Yet you all have treated her like one. I could have very easily become the way she is now, but I made the choice to be human, no one forced me."  
"We are well aware of that."  
"Then let me go one step farther. I woke up with memories, my memories. Theoretically, she should have most, if not all, of those same memories. When I remember things and events it is my face that I see. When she remembers things she sees a face that's different from the one that looks back at her. That alone would be enough to mess up anyone's head. Add to that the knowledge that you somehow know that you are different from everyone around you, it could drive you even madder.  
"Now you are asking me to make her more like myself, a little more human, and she knows that she is neither. That General, seems to me to be the makings of an even larger problem for her, especially having to deal directly with the person she thought she was and now knows that she isn't.  
"Now doesn't that strike you as being a bit hard to deal with all at once?"  
"Maybe so, but you overcame your problems Lieutenant"  
"I also had a past General, an identity. She doesn't."  
Both sit silently as he ponders over her words. Ripley had touched on the one thing they had not taken into consideration- the genetically passed down memories. He now wonders if that might be their problem with her, realizing that it is a strong possibility.  
"We hadn't considered the genetic memories to be any source of a problem, but I now see where it might have caused one," he admits to her. "Though I still want to know how long you plan to keep up this tough act."  
"Like I said, as long as it seems necessary."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Looking through the two-way window, Ripley, the General and Dr. Waters watch the scene before them. To the men, what they see is nothing unusual except for the fact that the alien now seems to be looking back at them, as if aware that they are there. Ripley still finds it amazing as well as confusing.

"Doctor, do you have any ideas how this has happened? How is it that they are able to be together like this?" she asks as she looks at the scene.

"Just guesses Ripley. I suspect that because Number Four sheltered the creature until it became too large for her to hide and protect it, they became close, bonded. No one dared to get too close to them while it was small in order to prevent an escape by it. We had no easy way to put her and it under so that we could safely take it out. We did try once and almost succeeded, but it almost escaped in the process. It took two weeks before it was large enough for her to be unable to protect it any more, and for it to be large enough for us to prevent it's escape."

"They grow to full size in about a day Doctor, not two weeks," Ripley tells him. "She's still too small to be full grown for a drone, let alone for a soldier."

"We are fully aware of that Ripley," he responds. "Further more, I believe that it is the time that Number Four spends with it that has kept her alive so far."

As she watches the pair, she feels something she believes to be similar to envy cross through her. Then a thought comes to her.

"Maybe she feels that this is her family, all that she has that she can identify with, feel connected to."

"Now she has you as well Lieutenant. That is, if you can reach through to her," the General responds.

Ripley watches the scene for a few more minutes before coming to a decision.

"I want in there General," she says softly.

"Are you fucking nuts woman?" he shouts, totally surprised by her request. "That kid of yours isn't too happy with you right now and I'm willing to bet that her pet in there feels much the same way. I don't believe that even you would last more that a few seconds against the two of them. That creature has never been sedated and is fully conscious."

"Let me set you straight General!" she yells back. There is no mistaking the anger and rage in her but she takes no physical actions as the doors open and several soldiers enter with weapons raised. "First, she is not 'My kid'. We may share some genes, but I had no active part in her creation.

"Second, if you ever, ever shout in my face again I'll rip that fucking tongue out of your damned mouth. NOW, put me in there!"

Both men are shocked at her outburst and quickly move aside as she heads to the door, ignoring the soldiers that are now inside. None of them fire on her, looking to the General for their orders, as she passes them. She only stops when she reaches the door to the other cell.

The General opens the door for her and, alone, she enters the cell. Both the woman and the creature keep an eye on her as Ripley does much the same, watching for any signs of an attack. All three appear to be a bit nervous as to what will happen next. For a short time that is all that they do, watch each other.

It is the woman who makes the first move. Ripley, expecting an attack, braces herself for what she expects is coming. The woman stands and begins to move towards her, only to have her actions arrested after a couple of steps by the alien, an action that surprises both women.

By standing and grasping the woman's shoulder, the alien has moved her attention from Ripley to itself. The woman looks at the creature's face as hers fills with confusion. Ripley can only watch and wonder what is happening as she sees that something passing between the two of them. Whatever is happening, the woman is upset and getting more so as she watches.

Ripley remains near the door, feeling that keeping some distance between them the wiser course of action. As she continues to watch, she sees the woman begin to shake her head as if saying no to something. For the first time that Ripley can remember since meeting her, fear shows in the woman's eyes.

While they are together, Ripley sees them look her way every so often. This leaves her with the impression that she might be the source of whatever it is that is going on between them. Though the woman is still shaking her head no, fear still shows in her eyes and on her face. Finally, both look at her and she gets the impression that whatever it was that was going on is now settled between them. When the alien begins to drag the woman towards her, obviously against her will, she wonders what is happening. Standing her ground, she is curious why the alien is doing this to her when she so obviously objects to it.

They stop only a few short inches from Ripley, standing just in front of her while the woman still continues her struggle to get free. Sensing no malice, she remains in place. She watches as the creature slowly raises it's free hand towards her face, feeling a bit apprehensive but remaining still. She watches as the woman continues to struggle, trying to get away, but not managing to do so, and wonders why she is so against what is happening. The creature's movements stop only when it gently rests it's hand against her cheek.

Instincts scream at her to break this touch but she does not move, allowing the contact. From this touch she learns one of the ways that the creature has been affected and how it now differs from the others that she has known. The texture of it's skin is soft and leather like with a warmth that is almost human to it.

As if reading her thoughts, it opens it's mouth and then displays it's inner jaws. Instead of the silvery, metallic teeth she had expected to see there are now white ones, still just as deadly looking. This causes her to wonder how many more changes, ones that aren't so easily seen, are present in it.

Suddenly, she feels another mind inside hers. Finding herself no longer able to move, fear spreads swiftly through her. Looking over to the woman, she sees a tear on her face and wonders why it's there. At the same time a strange voice inside her mind apologizes for what is about to happen. Ripley is unsure if it has come from the woman or the creature and why the need for an apology.

To anyone watching from the outside, it would appear that Ripley is frozen in fear. With unseeing eyes she now looks directly at the alien. A look of pain and sorrow filling her face as inside her mind she is forced to relive her past, helpless to prevent what is happening. Images of Amy, the Nostromo and her crew, Newt, the Sulaco crew, "Fury"161 and the events on the Auriga flood her mind causing her to relive the incidents as if they had just happened.

Finally the creature releases it's hold on both women. Once released, Ripley drops to her knees in tears, obviously extremely shaken. The woman and the alien back away from her, watching as she struggles to regain her self-control.

As the woman watches her, a different look comes across her face. Her fear and anger are now replaced by curiosity and, perhaps, a touch of compassion. Until now, Ripley had been a strong image to the woman- strong, cold, collected and distant. Unsure how to react to this change she looks at the alien, then back to Ripley. She then goes over to her, and drops down on her knees in front of the still shaken Ripley.

Cautiously the woman reaches out to Ripley, noticing that she is crying, and lays her hand on the place where the alien had touched her. At her touch, Ripley's eyes open wide, fear and pain still strong in them. Though the touch only lasts for an instant before Ripley pulls away from her and her touch, the woman begins to feel her pain. Ripley stops only when she is solidly against the wall behind her.

"Damn you both," she softly swears when she has stopped moving, too upset to even yell at them. "Why?"

Her question goes unanswered, though she can see a new look in the woman's face. No longer ready to deal with anything or anyone, she wishes that the General, or someone else would take her out of the cell. In her mind she thinks a physical attack would have been better than what she had just been through. At least she had been prepared for that, not for an assault on her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Sir, we have an incoming message for you concerning Lieutenant Ripley from a man identifying himself only as a friend of hers," the communications officer informs the General as he enters the command center.

"Put him on the loudspeaker, Lieutenant," he orders as a look of concern comes to his face.

"This is General Harris. Who am I speaking to?"

"The name's Johner and I want to see Ripley. I know she's there so don't fucking tell me she isn't."

"Yes she's here. Why should I grant you permission to land on my base?"

"I'll be direct with you. I'm in possession of several sensitive files covering certain military projects that both the press and the public would have a field day with. And I won't hesitate to release them, if you catch what I mean."

"I think I understand you. Permission granted. When shall we expect your arrival?"

"Sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening. General, when you next see Ripley, give her my best."

With that the General finds that the connection has been closed. With a shake of his head in astonishment, he leaves the center and heads for his quarters. He knew that Ripley would be trouble but he had not counted on her having any friends because of what she is. As he walks, he wonders just how far this is going to go and where or when it will all end.

Ripley doesn't remember falling asleep but is surprised to wake and find herself in the middle of the room close to both the alien and the woman. Looking at them, she sees that they are curled up together and still sleeping. Sitting up, memories of the night before return and she closes her eyes, finding herself fighting to remain in control. Opening her eyes again, she glances back at the pair, seeing that they too are now awake. Each being unsure what the other might do, they keep a bit of distance from each other, content to just watch each other.

When they hear someone outside the door they all turn in unison, watching as it opens. As if planned, all three rise to their feet as the General and a few soldiers enter the room. The General surveys the sight before him and notes where they are all standing.

"I see that you survived the night Lieutenant, I guess I was wrong."

"Not by much General. Though I wish you had been right," Ripley says as she leaves the room unhindered.

Watching as she leaves, he wonders what that was all about and makes a mental note to review the tapes. Apparently something important had happened, and he had chosen to not spy on them, only let the recorders run. Clearing his thoughts, he then gestures to one of the soldiers to bring him a set of restraints.

As the soldier passes Ripley, she stops and turns around.

"No! Wait General, don't cuff her."

"Are you all right Lieutenant? Why?" he asks as he takes the restraints from the soldier.

All eyes, even the woman's and the alien's (if it does indeed have eyes), are now on her. If she is uncomfortable with this, she doesn't show it.

"Trust me, please. Don't do it."

"You're asking a lot Lieutenant"

Ripley walks over to, and faces, the woman, looking directly into her eyes, the alien standing directly behind the woman. Not backing down or away she returns Ripley's stare. In her face, only a touch of confusion shows.

"I realize that General. Something happened, something changed last night. How and why, I'm not sure, but I need a chance to figure it out. I'm asking you for that chance."

"Very well, Lieutenant," he says as he hands the restraints back to the soldier. "I'll give you that chance and hope that you are right. So, if you both will follow me, we'll get some breakfast."

Peacefully the two women follow the General. They are in turn followed by the soldiers who have their weapons aimed at both women, and are following at a safe distance just in case they have to use the weapons. Their fears prove to be unfounded as they all enter the mess hall with no problems occurring. Even the appearance of Dr. Waters sitting at one of the tables fails to evoke many reactions from either woman, only a stiffening of Number Four's back.

Both men remain in stunned silence as the women take their chosen seats, Ripley next to the Doctor and the woman next to the General, placing her directly across from Ripley.

With the food already on the table, the woman begins eating right away, using her hands, but is stopped by Ripley. There is no hostility in the look that she gives Ripley, only wonderment as Ripley hands her a fork taken from the Doctor's setting, which only serves to set the doctor on edge.

"You'll find it's not so messy if you use this Kid," she tells her as she gives her the fork, her voice sounding gentle. The men pick up on this and feel that something has indeed changed between the women.

The woman takes the fork, trying several different ways to hold it before catching on to how the others are using theirs. Once she has figured out how to use the fork, she shows no problems in using it. Ripley finds this a bit odd since she seemed to automatically know how to use one from the start, though not quite sure what it was called.

"Lieutenant," the General finally speaks "I received a transmission last night from a man named Johner, claims to be a friend of yours."

"He is. Why?"

"Well it seems that he wants to see you- badly. Claims to have some of our projects copied, ready for release to the news media and general public if we don't let him see you."

"So, when did he say he'd arrive?"

"Either later this afternoon or early tonight. He wouldn't give me anything more precise. When he gets here, would you remind him that blackmail is still illegal."

"I'll try to remember," she says with a large amount of sarcasm in her voice. "Though I see it's still quite effective."

During their talk little attention has been given towards the woman. She had been sitting quietly eating her meal. This all changes when she has finished eating. She reaches over and takes a hold of Ripley's left hand. Ripley signals the men to allow what is happening, somehow knowing that she means her no harm. No one speaks or moves as they watch her actions.

Gently she looks at Ripley's nails, feels her skin and touches the eight on her forearm. As Ripley watches, she remembers when she had checked over the woman.

Her curiosity satisfied, she releases Ripley's hand, then raises her hands to her nose and smells the scent that was left behind. It is only when she lowers her hands that she becomes aware that everyone is watching her. Looking at them she tilts her head. A look of confusion comes to her face as she looks at the others, as if wondering why they are all looking at her so strangely.

After breakfast Ripley and the woman are left alone in the recreation center each doing their own thing independent of each other, stretching out so to speak. The woman is content to walk around, checking things over. As Ripley watches her, she gets the impression that the woman has never been in this part of the base before. Her actions remind Ripley of those of a curious child exploring her new surroundings for the first time, curious about everything, acting as if everything around her were new.

When Ripley is certain that there won't be any problems from her, she grabs a basketball and starts shooting hoops, allowing the woman the freedom to continue looking around. Ripley only glances at her from time to time, making sure that she is all right and staying inside the room. After a while the woman sits down at one of the long tables that are there, content to watch Ripley for a time.

Only a short time passes when the women hear people approach. Both look to the doors to see who it is. Neither woman is surprised when they see the General enter. Johner, Call, four other men, a woman, and several soldiers closely follow him.

Tucking the ball under her left arm, Ripley goes over to them while the woman chooses to remain seated at the table. Johner and Call head out to meet Ripley as the others spread themselves around. The General stays near the door for the moment allowing Ripley and her friends some degree of privacy. No one notices it when the General slips away.

Greetings are exchanged between the friends as well as updates. Once this is done, the course of their conversation changes.

"So, is that her?" Johner asks, nodding his head in the direction of Number Four.

"Yes, that's her. But you'd better watch your step around her, "Ripley tells him.

"That bad?"

"Until today, yes. Though I don't know how long this will last."

"Well, there's no time like the present to find out," Johner says. "Introduce us."

The three then go over to where the woman is sitting and sits down around her with Ripley beside her and Johner and Call across from her. The others are doing their own thing, ignoring the small group at the table. There is one man though, who is sitting alone at a far table, watching them all very closely.

"I would like you to meet some friends of mine," Ripley says to her. "This tough looking bastard is Johner. But don't let his looks fool you, he's really a nice guy, once you get to know him."

"Hi Kid," he says as he extends his hand. When she does not take it, he withdraws it, shrugging his shoulders in the process.

"And this is Call," she continues.

After seeing the way Johner's hand had been ignored, Call just nods her head in acknowledgment.

"There is something that I should let you both know," Ripley says as she looks at her friends across from her. "She still isn't talking and no one here is sure why. They can't seem to find any medical reason for it."

A smile crosses Johner's face at this.

"Tough and silent. I like that in a woman. But I still prefer them tall," he adds as he looks at Ripley, who smiles back at him.

"Let's talk- privately," she says as she stands and leaves the table.

Johner quickly joins her as she nods to Call who then also joins them. Together the trio goes over to a far corner in the hopes of talking more privately. Reaching the corner they begin talking in subdued voices, the woman stays at the table.

"Things have changed, haven't they Ripley?" Call asks.

"You could say that. They have an alien Queen here but she's different from any of the others that I've encountered. She's about our height and hasn't begun to reproduce yet. Also, there's something almost human about her."

"And the Kid? Just how human is she?" Johner asks.

"I don't know yet," she answers.

"Shit, nothing easy about this, is there?" Johner states.

As Johner and Ripley talk, Call looks over to the woman. She notices that she is no longer alone for one the men that had come with them is now sitting next to her, trying to start a conversation with her. Noticing Call's distraction, Ripley and Johner look in the same direction. Unaware of what she is doing, Ripley's back stiffens a bit at what she sees. When she sees him take one of her hands, Ripley unconsciously begins to move but is stopped by Johner, who has grabbed one of her arms.

"Let her be Ripley. If she winds up coming with us then she'll have to learn how to deal with this shit for herself," he says to her quietly.

Becoming aware of her actions, and realizing that he is right though curious as to his choice of words, Ripley backs down and watches. They watch them as he continues to hold her hand until such a time as a confused look comes over her and she pulls it away from him. This causes him to relocate his hand to another place a bit lower- her thigh. She wastes no time in pushing him off only to have him try it again. As he continues in his actions and words, the look on her face becomes more bewildered and confused.

A third time she removes his hand from her thigh, resulting in him placing his hand even higher. Her reaction this time is different. The confused look on her face is now replaced with anger as she grabs his hand with hers. He screams in pain as she removes his hand from her leg and slams it down on the table, hard. Still in pain and now with an obviously broken hand, the man swiftly leaves her side and the room. She appears to be unmoved by his pain as she continues to sit at the table, the look of anger now gone from her face.

During all this the soldiers have been standing by the door, taking no actions, watching what had been happening. Since she had shown no real aggression, they felt no need to interfere. When he had screamed in pain from her actions, they only smiled, feeling that he had gotten just what he had deserved.

Seeing the outcome, Ripley and her friends also relax.

"Smart Kid," Johner comments.

"Ripley, I think you just might care for her a bit more than you're willing to let on," Call adds.

Ripley's only reply to her is an icy stare and a tilt to her head, she then begins to dribble the ball that she had been holding for so long. A grin crosses Johner's face, which Call catches.

"I guess I'll go sit with…" she pauses for a moment. "Ripley, does she have a name?"

"No, not yet. These assholes have been calling her Number Four, I've been calling her Kid."

"Hey, that works for me," Johner chips in.

"It would Johner," Call says as she looks to Ripley. "Maybe you're not too attached to her yet, since you haven't bothered to give her a real name." Call says as she heads over towards the woman, missing the odd look that Ripley gives her.

Reaching her at the table, Call sits across from her and, putting her back against the wall, stretches her legs out across the bench. With a curious tilt to her head, the woman then copies Call's actions.

"You know Ripley," Johner says with a smile on his face as he receives the ball from her "I think Call might be right about you and her."

"How's that?"

"You seem to be a bit protective of her is all," he says as he passes the ball back to her.

Receiving the ball she goes down court and makes her shot then passes it back to him and begins guarding him.

"I hate to disappoint you all, but there's nothing there. Night before last she attacked me, almost killing herself in the process," she says to him as she steals the ball and makes another basket.

"Ever think that maybe she wanted you to kill her?"

Ripley pauses at this question, the thought hadn't occurred to her before. Passing the ball to Johner she changes the subject.

"No. So, are you going to talk, or play ball?" she says smiling.

Call has been watching the game as well as the woman and sees that she seems interested in what is going on. She watches a while longer to be sure of the woman's interest before talking to her.

"I see you've been watching them Kid. Want to give the game a try?"

The woman looks at Call, then over to the game. A smile crosses her face as she rises to her feet and allows Call to take her arm and lead her over to the players. A strange look crosses the woman's face briefly as Call takes her arm, but nothing more comes of it. Once they are on the court, Ripley and Johner stop playing and come over to them.

"What's up, Call?" Johner asks.

"We thought we might join the game. Maybe teach the Kid here how to play."

"How about it Ripley, feel like giving it a try?" he asks.

"Why not?" she answers. "Who knows, it might be fun," she adds with a smile.

"Great! Ripley, you take Call and I'll take the Kid," he says.

Before anyone can move, the woman softly grabs Call's arm and shakes her head at his suggestion, making it clear that she wants to be with Call. Once they understand that, they cautiously agree to the arrangement.

"Looks like David versus Goliath to me," Johner says.

"Yeah, but remember David slew Goliath," Call returns. "Ripley and I can take the ball out and show her how it's done."

Going to center court, Ripley gives the ball to Call who then passes it back to her. As Ripley then heads for the basket, Call tries to run interference, but is no match for Ripley. Ripley makes short work of the play as she sends the ball flying over Call's head and cleanly into the basket. Now it is Johner and the woman's turn.

Copying all that she had seen the other two do, the woman and Johner begin to play, with the woman blocking Johner as best as she can based on what she has seen. During this Ripley and Call join in on the play with Call stealing the ball from him. Stepping away in total confusion, the woman watches as Ripley gets the ball back from Call, passes it to Johner who then makes the basket. When this is done, they gather around the woman.

"Well Kid, do you think you're ready to play," Call says to her.

The woman smiles and gives a nod of her head. Unaware to the four, the game has drawn the attention of all present in the room, including the soldiers at the door. As Call and Ripley head back out to start the game, the woman stops Call and places her hand on the ball. Call understands her actions as she looks at her.

"You want to cover Ripley," Call says, acknowledging the woman's action.

The smile on the woman's face is all the answer anyone needs and so Call gives the ball to her and watches as the two go to mid court. With the smile still on her face, the woman passes the ball to Ripley and the game begins.

Though Ripley is in control of the ball, the woman stays enough on top of her to make things hard. Clearly the game has become more energetic, more aggressive. Despite the woman's efforts though, Ripley manages to score.

Now Call has the ball. The woman keeps herself between Call and Ripley allowing Call's size and speed to get past Johner. She does so and scores. It the next play that surprises everyone. With Ripley and Johner in control of the ball, the woman makes a move that results in her stealing the ball from Ripley while she dribbles it down court. She then passes it to Call who scores. From this point on the game gets even harder, every point being hard fought for. Obvious to all that are watching the game, the woman appears to be competing against Ripley, making things as hard for her as she can.

No one keeps score but apparently all are having a good time, enjoying the workout. The smile on Number Four's face looks natural, not forced, for the first time that Ripley can recall. Johner feels the exercise bit more than the women and with good reason, being the only fully human on the court. Despite this disadvantage, he does a good job keeping up with them.

The game continues until, suddenly, the woman freezes in her tracks, missing a pass from Call. No one misses this as Ripley goes over to the woman's side. Noticing that she is looking in the direction of the entrance, Ripley looks that way as well, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder in the process. Quickly the women look at each other as Ripley gets the strong impression that something has changed for the woman and in her situation.

"She's coming, isn't she?" Ripley asks her.

Ripley can feel the woman's sadness as well as sees it in her eyes as she returns Ripley's look. Staying in place on the court, the two are joined by Call and Johner. All four look toward the entrance, as well as the others that are there. As they watch, several soldiers enter as well as the General and then the cause of the woman's distress.

As the General strides through the doorway with a huge grin on his face, he is followed by the alien and several more soldiers, all who look very nervous. Most of the civilians present go into a state of shock as they try to find some protection. Ripley and the woman stand their ground, both looking very upset at this turn of events.

Whereas Ripley's face is full of rage and confusion, the woman begins to look beaten, defeated. She walks over to the alien slowly, her pace matching what she looks to be feeling.

Reaching the alien the woman notices that it is wearing a harness with some sort of pack on the back. Gently she runs her hands over the harness, checking it over carefully. When she begins to try to remove it, the General stops her- quickly.

"Sorry Number Four, I can't let you do that. As long as it is out of the cell, it will wear this harness. The pack contains an explosive in case it decides to try and escape or attacks anyone. Removing the harness in any manner, except with the correct key code, will result in the pack exploding, killing it and anyone close enough to it. My idea of a safety net, so to speak."

His words stop her efforts to remove the harness, but the look on her face and in her eyes is one of sheer rage. Obviously fighting to remain in control of herself, her hands are formed into fists. She is helped by the alien who shifts her attentions from the pack and onto itself. She then allows the alien to lead her to a far off corner where they both sit on the floor. Though the civilians are shocked at what they see, the soldiers seem to take everything all in stride, as if they have seen this done before.

"Nice trick General," Ripley says as she goes over to him. "How did you manage to pull it off?"

"Just told it that if it wanted to see Number Four, and get out of it's cell, then all it had to do was wear the harness and behave itself. After that, it put on the harness by itself, with only a little help from me."

"I'm surprised General. You're the first person that I've ever met to openly admit that they might be intelligent," Ripley says as she looks over to the odd pair.

"Reports, as well as it's own actions, indicated the possibility, so I took the initiative to find out for sure," he says as he too looks at the pair. "But I'm not stupid enough to give it much of a leeway, or many chances," he finishes as he shows her a detonation switch.

As they watch, they see Call cautiously make her way over to the pair. She stops just outside their reach, keeping the woman between herself and the creature. Ripley and the General can see that Call is talking to her but they are too far off to hear her softly spoken words.

"Hi Kid," Call says, hoping not to frighten or upset either of them. "The last time I was this close to something like this, I thought I was a goner."

Call comes no closer as the woman looks at her face, and then to the alien. When she suddenly stands up and comes over to Call, Call becomes nervous. The woman takes her hand and gently leads her beside the alien. Unsure and afraid of what is happening, Call does not move or fight as the woman then places her hand on the alien's head and has her go down on her knees before it.

This surprises everyone as the alien displays no hostile actions, allowing her touch. Call marvels at the texture and feel of it's skin, swiftly replacing her fear of it with curiosity. Like Ripley, she too finds it's skin soft and leathery, warm to the touch. She had expected it to feel cold and hard like the others they had come across, not like what she is now feeling. Both women seem unaware of the stares that they are drawing from their actions, and if they had been aware of the stares, it probably would not have made any difference at all.

"Guess that's something that you're used to seeing," Johner says to Ripley as he comes up along side her.

"No, not really," she simply replies.

Upon hearing Ripley's voice the woman looks at her then at the alien who softly hisses to her. Rising to her feet, she sends a wave of panic through Call as she realizes that the woman is walking away from them, leaving her alone with the alien. She relaxes only a little when she realizes that the alien isn't moving.

The woman goes straight over to Ripley, stopping just in front of her. A strange look comes over as she tries to form a word, but doesn't quite seem to know how. Finally a single word does come from her mouth. "Ripley" is all that she says as she holds out her hand to her.

Though badly broken and softly spoken, this one word hits like a sledgehammer, stunning everyone who can hear it- including the General. Everyone watches as Ripley takes her hand, and then allows the woman to take her over to the alien.

Reaching the alien, the woman has Ripley go down on her knees directly in front of the alien. Call stands up and moves slightly away from them, allowing them more space for what ever might be going to happen. Still holding Ripley's hand, the woman makes sure it's open, then directs it to just under the alien's mouth. Everyone watches as the alien opens it's outer mouth and then extends the inner one. With the inner mouth now exposed, the woman places Ripley's hand under it and wraps her fingers carefully around the inner mouth. She holds Ripley's hand for a moment as the alien begins to pull the mouth back inside. Finally, trusting her not to harm it, the woman releases her hold on Ripley. It is only when the inner mouth is back in and the outer mouth is closed that Ripley lower her hand back to her side, wiping off the slime as she does so.

At no time does Ripley fear for her safety. There is no time when she feels any hostility coming from the alien, only an odd sense of closure and a degree of trust between them. Looking over to the woman, she sees her shyly smile at her. For some reason Ripley now has a feeling that they both trust her. Not wanting to break what magic there might be, Ripley reaches back to the alien and touches it along one of it's arms. Call joins her side as she too begins to touch the alien, neither fearing what is in front of them any longer. As the woman again leaves the site, neither of the remaining women fear being left alone with it.

Returning to where the General and Johner are still standing, she reaches her hand out and takes Johner's hand in both of her's, saying nothing as she does so. Her intent is clear- she wants him to join the other two.

"I'm not so sure I want to do this Kid."

The look and small smile that she gives him touches something inside him and he gives in, allowing her to take him over and join the other two women. As she had done with Call, she places his hand on top of it's head then stands back, allowing the three the room to move. Ripley sees that she is remaining back and chooses to leave the alien, opting to stand next to the woman.

"I guess we have a truce Kid," Ripley says as she continues to watch. "I never thought I'd ever see anything like this happening."

Behind them, the man who had been watching everything decides to take a chance. Leaving his seat at one of the tables, he makes his way over to the small group. When he reaches a distance of only a few feet away, things begin to happen. In unison the woman turns to the man, fear showing in her eyes as the alien rises to it's feet, hissing. This causes Johner and Call to move away in a hurry.

"Seems she doesn't want you around," Ripley says calmly to him as the woman moves over to the alien's side. "I wonder why."

The man backs away carefully and quickly, keeping a careful watch on the alien and the woman as he does so. Once he is past a certain point, the alien settles back down to the ground. Even though things have settled down, it was enough to unnerve the General, almost causing him to press the detonator switch. Once he has calmed down, he goes over to the little group.

"Considering what I've just seen, I want the creature back in it's cell. Ripley, I want you and Number Four in there as well, just until I'm certain it's calmed back down," he then addresses the civilians present. "As for the rest of you, you are welcome to join me in the mess hall at 1800 hours for dinner."

Finished, the General leaves. Following are the women and the alien who are, in turn, followed by several armed soldiers. Their weapons trained on the trio of females in front of them.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Entering the cell, the woman makes for a far corner- alone. As she sits down with her back pressed into the corner, Ripley sees the alien go to another corner and does the same thing. Alone in the middle of the cell, she finds these actions unusual for the pair.

"We need to talk," Ripley says as she goes over to the woman. "I need to know what is wrong here."

The woman looks at her for a brief moment before she tries to speak.

"You are what is wrong," the woman finally manages to get out, her speech still broken. "You've ruined everything."

"How have I ruined things?"

"You've changed things, made things harder, more confusing." As she speaks, her words grow clearer and surer, becoming smoother.

"I don't understand."

"I know the plans they have for my Queen and me. They want to create a race of soldiers that are strong and expendable. They have even tried to program me to be a soldier. They want these soldiers to work in unison with the aliens that they are hosts to, making us…"

"…a force to be reckoned with. Those bastards," Ripley finishes. "That's why you reacted as you did when he brought her in, isn't it?"

"Yes. We had hoped that my actions would force them to end this project, not change their course of action. We had counted on their desire to keep you out of all this and based our actions on that."

"We, as in you and her?" Ripley asks, only a little confused at the direction that things are heading. "How did you learn all this?"

"They weren't very careful about keeping me out of their computers. I gained their codes, accessed the system and checked out the files on me. They never suspected I had learned their codes.

"As you know my alien is different from those that are in our memory. She is still a Queen, but she has a human side as well. We can read each other's thoughts when we want, or need, to. She's not like the others in that she is so much more."

"I figured that out for myself."

"At first it was confusing for me, what with the memories and the drugs to deal with. Your arrival, mixed with the drugs they were giving me, made things worse, harder to figure out. We had planned for both of us to die, somehow, with my death being the first. Then they would have had no choice but to destroy her as well.

"When you arrived my Queen thought there might be a better way, but I didn't agree, I didn't want to be any part of their plans. It took my Queen opening your mind to me to get me to think differently, seeing what all you had been through.

"I accept that you don't want to have anything to do with me, and I don't blame you. But I also believe we all want to stop this madness.

"I never thought they would want to bring you here, let alone would be able find you. How did they find you?"

"They found me because I wanted them to."

"I don't understand," she asks, confusion filling her face at hearing this.

"We got into the military computer systems on earth in the hopes of deleting all the information about me. While we were in there we learned about you and this project, as well as several others like this one, but this one was the farthest along.

"The plan was for me to go in and do whatever damage I could and not to interfere with what was happening with you and the alien. I knew about the destruct orders if they could not control you. You changed my mind, by asking why I had come. I had to learn more about you after that."

There is silence for a few moments before the woman continues.

"I had hoped to try to get you to kill me."

"Johner figured that one out."

"Ripley, I never intended to do you any harm. I don't blame you for what has happened- I know it's not your fault. It might come to the point where we all must die, all three of us."

"If it makes them think twice before trying this again, then it would be worth it. Especially if they decide against it."

Silence prevails between them as the women deal with their own thoughts. Ripley looks straight ahead while the woman lays her head down on her hands. No longer confused by the woman's actions, Ripley wonders if she would have done the same thing if she had been as knowing of her future as she is. Though she still somewhat confused about her relationship to this woman, she does feel proud of her.

The woman deals with her feelings as well. Strongest in her is the feeling of being defeated, followed closely by confusion as where this is all heading. Feeling helpless and wanting to find some comfort, she reaches out with her mind to the alien. She finds it's thoughts similar to her own- confused and beaten. Both realize that things have gone too far for them to return to their original plan; something else has to be figured out. There is one thought that does come to the woman from the alien and it causes her even more confusion. Just two simple words- trust Ripley.

Tired, the woman stretches out on the floor, ignoring that Ripley is close by, and lays on her side with her back to Ripley. Ripley remains sitting on the floor and watches as the woman drifts off to sleep, wondering what her thoughts are about. At one point she looks over to the alien and finds that it seems to have gone to sleep as well. With nothing better to do and no one to talk to, Ripley follows the examples around her, stretching out on the floor as well, near to the woman, and soon is also sleeping.

As they sleep, neither woman is aware of the other closing the small distance between them. Ripley wakes briefly when the woman comes into contact with her. Realizing that she is still sleeping, Ripley settles back down. Nestling into the woman's back, she lays her arm across her waist, much in the same fashion as a mother would when sleeping close to her child. Having gone back to sleep, Ripley never feels the woman take her hand and draw it up close to her. The woman is not aware that she has done this for she has remained sleeping the whole time.

Something though does wake the alien who looks over at the pair. She can see that the women need each other and is saddened to know that neither one is willing to admit it to each other, let alone to themselves. Feeling left out, she rises. Going over to the women, she lays back down at their heads.

Ripley is the first to wake, realizing almost immediately the closeness of the other two. Glancing up, she feels her head rub gently against the alien. At the same time she becomes aware of the woman holding her hand closely to her body, reminding Ripley of how a child would hold a source of comfort closely. Not wanting to wake either of them, she remains still, surprised at finding herself smiling at her situation.

When the woman does wake, she is startled at what she finds. Not only is she in close to Ripley, she is also holding onto her hand and the alien is tucked in at their heads. Quickly releasing Ripley's hand she sits up, waking the alien in the process. Confused, she looks at Ripley who smiles at her as she and the alien also sit up.

An awkward silence fills the cell as Number Four tries to think this out. It is interrupted though by the arrival of several soldiers who are followed by Dr. Waters. The look on the women's faces changes, as the alien moves to the far back of the cell, but no one makes any moves against the Doctor.

"Good morning ladies," he begins. "I want to examine Number Four before breakfast."

"Where's the General?" Ripley demands firmly, surprised to see him here.

"Busy elsewhere. Now, if you both will follow me," he replies as he turns and leaves the cell.

With a look to each other, the women follow him out while the alien remains against the wall, for the first time allowing the doctor to take the woman out of the room. The soldiers keep a close watch on both women as they all follow the Doctor. When they reach medical the woman climbs onto a table as Ripley sits down in the closest available chair. Neither woman speaks as he does his examination.

"The toxin levels are down by quite a bit," he tells them. "And her vital signs are stronger. I'm not sure how you're doing this Ripley, but keep it up and she'll make it."

"Fine. If you are done Doctor, we would like to get the hell out of here," Ripley's words are cold and hard.

"Of course. By now the General should be waiting for both of you in the mess hall. Are you ready to go as well, Number Four?" he asks her directly, but only gets a cold stare in response.

Standing, Ripley goes over to the woman as she gets down off the table. Together they go to the door followed closely by the soldiers. As they reach the door, the Doctor makes one last statement to them.

"Number Four, I know you can talk. I watched the monitors last night and saw the two of you talking to each other. The next time I ask you a question, I expect you to answer me. Consider it an order."

Joining the others in the mess hall, Ripley and the woman take seats at the table. The woman sits next to the General, which Ripley suspects is more out of habit than anything else. She chooses to sit between Call and Johner, who are seated across from the General, putting herself directly across from him.

"So Kid," Johner says between mouthfuls of food "what do you think of our Ripley?"

"Why do you ask?" she says quietly as a tray of food is placed in front of her.

"I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Then try somewhere else." There is a finality to her voice.

"I'm only trying to be friendly."

Ripley watches and listens to what is going on. She can't help noticing that there is a difference in her tone of voice compared to last night, more cold and distant. She also notices that the woman seems to be afraid to look at anyone, as if hiding something.

"Let it drop Johner. If she doesn't want to talk, then don't press her," Ripley says.

"I can speak for myself Ripley," she says as she looks at her, her words sounding almost sad, then she again lowers her eyes.

"Tell me something we don't already know," Ripley replies with a smile on her face.

"Then you don't need to speak for me," she says, looking up at Ripley again.

"Who says that I was?"

Before anything else is said, the General is paged overhead. Going over to a communications panel he listens to the message. When it is done, he quickly heads for the doors. They know the message must be important for he is quickly leaving. He pauses at the doors and turns back to them, deciding to let them know what is happening.

"I've been informed of some derelict ships drifting our way and into shipping routes as well. I'm going to check things out in command. See what is happening. Until I know more, you all have the freedom of the base.

"Number Four, your pet will stay in it's cell until this is cleared up. I want no one but myself taking it out of there for now. It seems safer to me that way." With that he leaves them.

"Ten- hut! Officer on deck!" the soldier nearest to the door shouts as the General enters.

"As you were," he replies as he hurries over to the scanning equipment. "What's the story?'

"Sir, three ships are definitely drifting our way. Long-range scans indicate no life on any of them, only very low power readings. The readings are too low to support any life."

"Okay," he says as he studies the boards. "I want Alpha squadron out there to check things out. If they look to be in good shape then we'll bring them for salvage- standard routine. Otherwise, have them destroyed.

"Until they reach those ships and report in, I'll be seeing to our guests. Contact me then."

"Yes sir."

As the General leaves he realizes that he has a bad feeling about this, as if something isn't right, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.

In the recreation center Johner and some of the others pace the floor in boredom. Call, the woman and one man sit quietly with Call and the woman at one table and the man at another. Ripley stands with her back against a wall and watches them all. As she watches she becomes aware that the man is watching the woman very carefully, as well as trying to keep track of herself and wonders why he is doing this. When the General enters, all attention becomes focused on him.

"It looks as if it might be nothing, but I'm sending a squadron out to check things out, just in case. Until I hear otherwise I would appreciate it if you all, and that includes you- Ripley, and Number Four, remain here. Hopefully it won't be for long."

With that said, the General turns and leaves.

In command center they listen as the squad reaches the ships.

"This is team leader. We are now in position and have a clear visual on the derelicts," comes the report over the radio.

"Make a few passes team leader. I want all reading triple checked," the General orders as he walks in and hears the report.

"Acknowledged base, standby."

Nothing more is said as they wait for the reports. While they wait, they recheck their computer readings, looking for any clue as to what might be going on. The readings indicate that the ships appear to be in good shape, only for some unknown reason abandoned and then sent adrift. All this does is to serve to put the General more on edge. The timing is very odd to him, considering what is currently happening on the base.

"Team leader to base, all readings correspond with each other. No differences, and there is no flux in the low power readings. There are no radiation readings either for that matter. The ships also appear to be in good shape."

"Damn," the General mutters. He had hoped that there would be something, anything, different. "Standard procedures then. Bring them into the central bay and stand by. I'll meet you there."

He doesn't understand why, but everything about those ships feels wrong to him. He knows that feelings alone are not much to go by, but they have served him well in the past. Procedure calls for the ships to be investigated and then salvaged, if possible, but he would rather have them destroyed and not brought onto his base.

As he thinks, his people go into action. They are all well trained and know what needs to be done. As a wide variety of actions take place he knows that he needs to only trust his people to do their jobs.

Unsure why the ships have been abandoned, his people prepare for anything from harmful contamination to just plain human error. They set up a mini lab just inside the bay and wait in safety in a maintenance bay until the ships have arrived.

The General arrives as they finish securing the ships in the bay. Walking around the outside of the derelicts, he looks for anything, any sign of damage or some other clue as to what has happened, but finds nothing. To his eyes the ships appear to be sound and in good shape.

"Let's get these cans open and see what's going on. Exercise general safety precautions men," he says. "But be careful, something just doesn't feel right about all this."

After donning protective bio-suits, two soldiers come forward carrying tools to open the ships. They go to the center ship, drop an access panel and prepare to open it. Everyone is so involved in what they are doing that they ignore the other two ships.

From underneath the other two ships' panels silently open and a faint yellow gas is expelled. There is no sound or scents to warn the soldiers of what is happening until it is too late. The soldiers begin to feel ill and disoriented. Looking about the General finds the source of their problem, but he is too late. As he and his men succumb to the effects of the gas he sees the ships open and realize quickly that their bio-suits are no protection against the gas. Fighting to stay on his feet, he watches helplessly as several men and women, all wearing oxygen masks, exit the ships, and they are carrying heavy-duty firearms.

With him and his men in no condition to fight, the General surrenders. Quickly they are disarmed of what few weapons they have. The only good thing that the General sees in all this is that no one is killed in the process, giving them a chance to fight later.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

It is a very surprised group of people that watch as some of the soldiers and the General are shoved into the recreation center. Unsure what has happened and what to do, Ripley and the others stand by and watch as the mercenaries enter behind the military. Looking at the soldiers and at how they are moving, Ripley suspects that they have been drugged. She also notices that they are out classed in firepower as well.

Last to enter the room is a man who carries himself as if he is the one in charge. Looking around the room, a smile comes across his face as his eyes settle on Ripley.

"Ellen Ripley…" he begins as he walks over to her, stopping just outside of her reach. "…I'm glad to see that the reports about you being here were correct."

Then, to the prisoners surprise, the loner who had been watching them as well as tried to approach the alien earlier, comes forward and over to the man.

"I'm glad to tell you Kearns, that things here are just as we had hoped."

"Good," he replies. "So, which one of these females is Ripley Jr.?"

"This one is her," the man says as he heads over to where Call and Number Four are standing, then points directly at Number Four.

"It looks as if you're doing much better than the last report said you were doing Jr. You, your mother and your…. 'pets' are going to make us all very rich." He says as he heads over to her and Call. "Even if we choose to keep you, not to sell you, the others will still fetch us a handsome price. You see we can always use something like you."

Ripley begins to move but is quickly stopped short by seeing a rifle aimed at her head. Knowing that she can do no one any good dead, she backs down. Number Four and Call also remain still, seeing what might happen if they try anything. Ripley only watches as the man's attention is then turned to Call.

"And if I remember the records correctly, we have an extra bonus in you, robot. Once your memory is wiped and you're reprogrammed, you'll be a real asset to me."

Raising his hand to Call's face, he grabs her chin. Number Four begins to move as if to stop his actions but is stopped by Call grabbing her wrist, letting her know not to interfere. The man lifts Call's face up to his and then turns it from side to side.

"Not bad, not bad at all," he says as he releases her and then turns to his people.

"I want Junior's main pet found and be sure it's secure. I don't want it harmed, we'll need it to control the others. When it is found I want these three females secured with it. If they give you any trouble, for now you can consider Ripley Senior expendable. We can still make a nice profit with the others."

With the soldiers unarmed and still feeling the effects of the gas, they provide no resistance, and no help, to the others that are there. Two of the mercenaries go over to Call and the woman, armed with semi-automatic weapons. There are two on Ripley as well. All weapons are cocked and ready to be used in an instant as they try to move them out of the room.

When it seems that Call and Number Four are not moving fast enough for them, one man makes the mistake of grabbing Number Four's arm and jerks her hard. She reacts violently to this action, grabbing him and sending him flying across the room. The other person that is with them, a woman, now moves against Number Four and, taking matters into her own hands, punches her in the mouth. As the mercenary sees that this has no effect on her, she has little time to think. Number Four becomes more violent, more animal-like, hitting the woman back- hard and knocking her unconscious, then presses her attack.

"Theresa, NO!" Ripley shouts as she sees what is happening. She then turns to her captors. "Let me go- I can stop her."

With a look and then a nod between her captors, Ripley finds herself released. Moving quickly, she makes her way over to the woman. As Number Four raises her fist to throw another punch, Ripley grabs it and stops her. With anger in her face she looks at Ripley, though it takes her a few seconds before she recognizes who it is that has stopped her.

"This isn't the time or the place Theresa. We have to wait so the others won't get hurt," Ripley speaks to her in a soft, firm voice that helps to calm the woman down.

At first Number Four- now Theresa, is confused by Ripley's words and actions. Finally, showing her acceptance of what she has been told, she opens her fist as Ripley lets go of her. Drawing a deep breath, she begins to relax.

"There won't be any problems for now, as long as no one else touches her," Ripley says as she keeps her eyes on the woman before her. "And to save you some time, the alien you're looking for is in medical- holding cell B."

All three women now find themselves locked in with the alien. Theresa is settled in next to it, Call stands with her back against a wall and Ripley paces the floor. After watching Ripley pace for a while, Theresa decides it's time to talk.

"I think I should tell you both about some things that are going on here," she begins. "Things that were never put into the computers in case something like this should happen, and because they were never authorized to be done in the first place."

"If this isn't in the computers then how do you know this?" Ripley asks.

"I can read the minds of those people that I touch, usually," Theresa replies as she looks over to Call. "That's one of the reasons I never talked before now. I never felt a need to. Call made it necessary for me to begin."

Ripley, as well as Call, now head over to Theresa. Both reach her at about the same time. Once they are there, Theresa continues, only in a quieter voice, one just barely above a whisper.

"There are other aliens here, kept in cryogenics in the hopes that they would not become a threat to the soldiers. These people seem to know that the aliens are here.

"The Doctor wanted to try to create a genetically pure strain of the aliens. He wanted to keep it a secret until he was sure of his success, afraid that the government would put a stop to it. The General is also aware of them but is keeping quiet about it. Like myself, those in cryo are also genetically altered, with my Queen being the donor.

"I am aware of ten such beings. Though they are frozen, I can still feel their minds, as can my Queen.

"There are also the embryos that are in cryo as well. If these people get a hold of them, they can be used in the same manner as what they might have planned for us."

"At least ten more aliens. Damn," Call mutters. "That does explain why they said 'pets'."

"Call," Theresa asks, "why did that man call you "robot"?"

"Because that's what I am. A machine that looks human with a computer for a brain."

"So that's why I couldn't feel your mind when we first touched," she pauses for a moment before continuing. "We can't let them have you Call."

"I wish it were as easy as that Kid," Call responds.

"She's right, we're in some pretty damn deep shit," Ripley says. "You said that you could feel their minds, how is that? I can only feel you and your friend here."

"She was the one who felt them first and showed me how to feel them," she pauses for a moment, then asks "Ripley, why did you call me Theresa and not Number Four or Kid?"

"I couldn't call you Number Four. I was called Number Eight for a while and I didn't like it at all. I couldn't keep calling you Kid, you're not a kid, and it's not really a name either. Theresa was a sudden choice, which for some reason, feels right for you. Besides, Theresa was also my grandmother's name."

Silence prevails as the women sit quietly, thinking. By all outward appearances, no one would ever guess that they are not as they look, let alone suspect their unique relationship to each other. Only the presence of the alien changes the way things look as it softly hisses, making sounds that only Theresa seems to understand.

"We need to try to get out of here, somehow, some way," Ripley says, breaking the silence.

Suddenly as if in anger or frustration, Theresa reaches out and grabs Ripley by the back of her neck.

"Ripley…" she almost yells, her voice being just loud enough to carry beyond the door, "…I am sick and tired of your acting like you're in charge here!"

Call is totally shocked at this sudden outburst from Theresa. She would have been even more so if she knew what was really going on in front of her. By grabbing Ripley's neck Theresa has forced herself into Ripley's mind.

"RIPLEY…" she projects "…IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME THEN GRAB MY WRIST, SO I CAN BE SURE."

Almost instantly Ripley reacts, grabbing the wrist of the hand that is on her neck, but she does not remove it. With a somewhat confused look on her face, she plays along. Call is left out in the cold and can only watch and guess what is happening between the women.

Feeling a need to act, Call begins to move towards the women but is stopped by the alien grabbing her and holding her fast, preventing her from doing anything.

"PLEASE FOLLOW MY LEAD, WE NEED A DISTRACTION. IF THEY THINK WE'RE FIGHTING THEY MIGHT COME IN AND TRY TO STOP US. THEY DON'T SEEM TO WANT EITHER CALL OR MYSELF DAMAGED."

"I don't want you running my life!" Theresa finishes shouting.

"Fine! Then let's settle it here and now!" Ripley yells back at the same volume as she pulls Theresa's hand away from her neck.

Both women rise to their feet, ready for a fight. Call sees this and begins to struggle against the alien, but it has a solid hold on her and her efforts are futile, wasted. Helplessly Call watches as the other two begin their fight.

No more words are said as Theresa throws the first punch that Ripley easily dodges, and in turn lands one in Theresa's stomach, which appears to have no effect on her. Theresa then grabs Ripley's fist and jerks Ripley onto the floor. Ripley is quickly back on her feet and fails to dodge Theresa's blow to her stomach, which also has no effect.

Ripley now tackles Theresa sending them both to the floor, wrestling each other. As they wrestle around, Call hears the door open and sees two mercenaries enter. Stopping just inside they look at the women wrestling on the floor and are unsure what to do. It is Call's shout that spurs them into action.

"Stop them! They're going to kill each other!" Call shouts, urging the guards into moving.

The mercenaries look at each other then go over to where the women are fighting and when they get within arms reach of the women, things change rapidly. Instead of fighting each other, they split up and attack the mercenaries, tripping them and sending them both to floor. With them down Ripley and Theresa are quick to render them unconscious. At one point Ripley has to physically stop Theresa who seems ready to rip out her opponent's throat. With the guards now out cold the two women use the bootlaces from the guards' boots to tie them up. All this is done as a stunned Call is released by the alien.

"What the hell were you two doing back there?" Call asks as the four leave the cell and head down the corridor.

"Sorry Call, there was no way and no time to warn you," Ripley replies as they hurry along.

Coming across an air vent, Theresa stops.

"Wait a minute," she says as she looks at the vent covering, then to the alien. "We've got an idea."


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Rounding a corner the trio of women comes face to face with a small group of armed mercenaries. Since they are out numbered and out gunned, the three women surrender without a fight. They are then escorted to the recreation center where Johner and some of the soldiers are being held. The women notice when they enter that the soldiers are looking a lot better than the last time they had seen them.

"Glad to see you Ripley," Johner says in a quiet voice as he goes over to them. "Any ideas how we can get out of this shit?"

"Maybe, but we're going to need some cooperation and information from these assholes here," she says, indicating towards the General and his men, then goes over to the General. "Well General?"

"What do you want Lieutenant?"

"Information to start with. Theresa said that you had tried to program her to be some sort of a soldier. I want to know what all you tried to program into her."

"How does she know that?" There is genuine surprise in his voice.

"It seems your people weren't very careful around her and didn't give her enough credit. She managed to get your codes and into your system and the files on her. She knows it all. Now I need to know what she knows before the shit hits the fans."

" About that programming?"

"Mostly protocol, with some strategic and tactical programs thrown in as well. The protocol was done in the hopes that she would follow, and obey, the chain of command. Now, would you mind telling me how she managed to get into our computers?"

"You could say that she has a special touch. Now, if I understand you, in the hopes of her cooperating with you all, you decided to royally fuck up her head. Did you hope to make a good soldier out of her, a good killing machine?"

"Enough Lieutenant, what's done is done," he snaps.

"What about the aliens in cryo, or the other embryos?"

"The aliens aren't in the computers. How do you know about them?"

"Three ways General. One, Theresa can feel them. Second, our friends here said 'pets' not pet. Third is her touch. She is somewhat telepathic it appears."

"Are you sure about that Lieutenant?"

"She's sure General," Theresa says as she joins Ripley' side. "We didn't miss it. Because they said "pets" I felt it necessary to tell Ripley and Call what I knew."

"How is it that you can feel the aliens?" he asks.

"Like Ripley said, my Queen and I can feel them even though they are in cryo. Something about the blood we think. We can't tell exactly just how many there are, but we are aware of at least ten of them."

"You have another problem to deal with General," Ripley says. "These mercenaries knew about your project, about me being here, and about the aliens. I think you have a traitor in your ranks."

Ripley's words hit him hard as he realizes just what she has said. A traitor among the men he had thought that he could trust. He had hand picked the soldiers himself, but the Doctor had picked his staff. If there is indeed a traitor among them, then he feels that this person is in the Doctor's staff, not his.

"I admit that there is a possibility to what you have said Lieutenant. At this moment my main concern is how we are going to get out of all this and get my command back."

"Then I would suggest that you talk to Theresa, but I doubt that you'll like what she has in mind."

"Theresa?" he says as he looks over to her. "What is she talking about Number Four?"

"No more Number Four General, I am not a number. Just call me Theresa for now, but no more Number Four.

"We are waking up the others in cryo. My "pet" as everyone seems to want to call her, is a Queen. As such, she will be able to control them, despite the mutations in her."

"And who controls your pet?" he asks, but only receives a cold stare from her. "All right then, why is it willing to help us?"

"You don't need to know why General, just be glad that she is."

Obviously done talking to him, Theresa leaves the General and Ripley, choosing to be alone in a corner of the center, something that Ripley has come to realize that she does a lot. Having no time to wonder and ask her why, Ripley only makes a mental note of it for now.

"General," Ripley asks, her voice almost a whisper, "just how many of these things will we be turning loose?"

"The last time I checked there were twenty of them, with six being almost genetically pure. They were not fully mature when we froze them, but the cryo only slows down their growth rate Lieutenant, it doesn't stop it. By now most of them should be fully mature."

"Twenty," she says as she shakes her head in disgust. "Looks like we're going to be in for one hell of a time."

Command center. The mercenaries have made themselves right at home as they download whatever they can from the computers on the base.

"How much longer before we can move the frozen cargo?' Kearns, the leader of the mercenaries asks over a communicator. Patience is not one of his strong points, and his people are well aware of it.

"About thirty more minutes boss. We don't want these things waking up while we're still around."

"Try to make it sooner. As it is we need to either freeze, or at least sedate, those two females before we go. They got loose once and I don't want that happening again. They're too dangerous, and too valuable as well."

"Sounds like you're more afraid of them than these frozen monsters."

"Damn right I am. I've read the reports on Ellen Ripley and she's one bitch I don't want to mess around with. And if the daughter is anything like her mother, well then we have twice the trouble, and trouble seems to follow the mother."

"Then for you boss, we'll try to speed things…"

His voice over the communicator is suddenly drowned out by alarms going off. Heard over the alarms is the base's computer making a very ominous announcement.

"Warning. All cryogenic units have been taken off line. Waking of the organisms in chambers one through twenty-six will occur in seven minutes. There is five minutes in which the chambers can be successfully restarted in order to prevent their waking."

"What the hell is going on? Somebody find out what's happening!" Kearns orders as he goes over to the main computer console and begins punching in commands.

"Shit!" he curses. "Someone's reprogrammed the main core, we're locked out. Harding, get down to medical and help get those cryo tubes working on manual!"

The man is through the door as his leader finishes speaking. Judging from the look on Kearns face, he is in no mood not to have anyone jump at his command. No one wants to be on the receiving end of his rage.

Suddenly, and without waiting for Harding's report, Kearns leaves the command center and heads for the recreation center. As he gets closer he begins to run as the computer announces that there is only three minutes left for a safe restart.

"What the hell have you done Harris?" he yells as he comes through the door.

"He's done nothing," Theresa says in a voice loud enough to catch his attention as she leaves the corner that she was in. "And I would advise you to get your people out of here while you still can, that is if you want them to stay alive.

"I've decided to conduct an operational check of this weapon that you all seem to want so damned badly. You see I'm in command here now. Not you, not the General. I am."

Her tone of voice surprises everyone more than her words do. Even though the people who are being held with her knew what was going to happen, no one was prepared for her to totally take command. Even Ripley had thought that she would let the General give the orders, giving him back his command.

"Number…" the General pauses for a moment before continuing, collecting his thoughts. "…Theresa… Terri, what are you saying?"

"I already told you General, my Queen can control the aliens and I can control her. So, with that in mind, I have decided to run things around here."

"Terri the Terrible," Johner mutters just under his breath.

"You have only yourselves to blame, General," Theresa continues. "If you all had just quit after loosing the Auriga and Ripley, learned a lesson from it, then it would never have come to this. But no, you couldn't resist playing God one more time. Well now your creations are fighting back."

No one misses the anger and rage in her words and voice. Ripley, who has been standing behind her since the moment that she had come forward, begins to move closer to the woman. Sensing Ripley's approach, Theresa makes her aware that she knows without turning around or moving.

"Stop where you are Ripley, don't come any closer," she says, getting the desired results.

"You can't win Junior," Kearns says. "We have the aliens still on ice as well as the fire power to destroy them all, if we so choose to do so."

"You might get some of us asshole, but not all of us. If your people begin firing at those who are waking up, then they'll attack. Even with weapons, two men alone won't last very long against them.

I repeat, leave now and live, or stay and die." Her words are cold and hard as she reminds him of his choices.

"Can't do it Jr., there's too much money at stake here. Besides, I don't believe one fucking word that you've said. No one can control these bastards like that," he pauses for a moment as he realizes that she knows there are only two of his men in the cryo center. Wondering how she knows this, he chooses not to follow up on it for the moment.

"I'd believe her if I were you," Ripley speaks. "I've seen her and her alien Queen together and I know what they can do."

"Twenty seconds remain in which to restart the cryogenic systems," the computer announces overhead.

Opening his communications device, Kearns contacts his man.

"Harding, why in hell haven't you gotten the cryo systems running yet?" he yells.

"We can't do it in time boss. It's more than a shut down, the power's been rerouted and I can't find where it's gone to, and manual has been sabotaged."

There is silence for a moment before Harding again speaks.

"The tubes are opening Kearns and there isn't a damn thing that I can do to stop it. Let's get the hell out of here while we still can!"

"We came here to do a job. If we can't leave with the full package, then we'll have to settle on the women. If these assholes can clone 'em, anyone can. We'll let the soldiers deal with this problem." Closing his communicator he turns to a now smiling Theresa.

"Listen Junior, we are leaving, but we're taking you, your mother and the robot with us. If you can control them, then talk to them, let them know we're leaving."

Ripley and the others stay out of what is happening, letting Theresa have free reign on the events. Not knowing where this is all heading to, or what Theresa is up to, they hope for the best and give her the space that she seems to want.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I will stop them long enough for you and your people, as well as the other humans and Ripley, to leave this place. This madness has got to stop and if you won't stop it then I will, even if it means some deaths. I REFUSE to be used by anyone any more!" Her words are said with such force that it takes them all by surprise.

"And to show you more humanity that you would have shown me Kearns, I'll give you ten minutes to make your decision. Contact your man Harding, he'll tell you that the aliens are now awake but not doing anything, yet. If you decide to leave empty handed, then nothing will happen. If not, then I'll turn them loose. The choice is yours."

Again Kearns opens his communicator.

"Harding, are you still in medical?"

"Yeah boss." There is a great deal of fear in his voice.

"What's happening? Are the creatures thawed out yet?"

"They're awake boss, but they aren't attacking anyone."

"Try to get back to the others. You should be safe for the moment. I'll contact you again shortly." He closes his communicator and returns his attention to Theresa.

"I'm not sure how you're doing this Junior, but I'm willing to take the chance that you won't turn those bastards loose on anyone. I'm calling your bluff." He then draws his weapon and aims it at her before continuing.

"Like I said, you, your mother and the robot are coming with us. If you refuse then I'll shut down the robot first, I can always repair it, and your mother second." He then aims his weapon at Call, who is now standing close to Ripley. "It's your choice Junior."

Theresa looks at Call and Ripley, then walks over to them. Stopping just outside Ripley's reach, and between Call and Kearns, she turns and faces him.

"I told you asshole, no one's going anywhere with you," she says firmly.

Above his head the ceiling opens and the Queen silently drops down behind him. If not for the reactions of the prisoners, he would never have known that she was there. Turning around he finds himself face to face with the Queen. Her attack is swift and his death is quick and almost painless. She disappears back through the ceiling as Kearns' body falls to the floor. No one is willing to move in case they might be next. Only Theresa seems to be unmoved by what has happened.

"I did warn you," she says as she takes the weapon from his now dead hand. She then goes over to the General.

"Are we next, Terri?" he asks.

For a moment no one says anything as screams are heard over the now open communicator. Screams that are both human and alien are mixed in with the sounds of weapons being fired. It doesn't last for very long.

"I haven't lied to you General," she tells him as she hands him the weapon. "As long as your men and the medics stay in their uniforms they will be safe. That is how they are being separated from Kearns' people. Johner and his people will only be safe as long as they stay with the soldiers."

So intent is Theresa on the General that she fails to realize that Ripley is coming up behind her, quickly closing the short distance between them. Her first indication of Ripley's presence is feeling a hand on her back and shoulders, then Ripley being briefly in her mind. Though she reacts quickly and pulls away, Theresa realizes what has just happened. Looking at Ripley, she tries to bury the pain that she now feels and almost succeeds, but it still shows as a tear forms in her eyes.

"What happens next, Kid?" Johner asks as he joins the group.

"When the aliens are done with the mercenaries, you all leave. Then this all ends."

"Ends? Ends how Terri?" the General asks.

"You're going to blow everything up, aren't you?" Ripley asks.

"Why ask what you already know Ripley," Theresa states, her voice beginning to sound weary.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" the General demands.

"She plans to keep the aliens here while the rest of us leave," Ripley begins. "Then she's going to destroy the aliens, this base…" and in a softer voice, "…and herself."

Now it is Call's turn to react, going over to Theresa. Gently taking one of her arms, she gets Theresa to look at her.

"You can't do this Terri!" Call's voice is full of concern for the woman.

"Why not Call? No one here's stopping me. No one really wants to, except maybe to try and save this base. Those of you who might be able to change my mind don't want to become any more involved with me than they all ready are, with, it seems, the exception of you." There is no missing the sound of sorrow in her voice as she speaks.

"Now that the others are fully awake, there is only one way to really stop them and that is to destroy them. My Queen and I can control them for now, but it won't last forever. Eventually she will begin reproducing and then will be of little help physically to anyone." She then turns to the General.

"With that in mind General, once things have settled down, I strongly recommend that you all leave as quickly as you can."

"We're not leaving anyone behind Terri. Not my men, not Johner and his crew, not Ripley or you. We all go, or no one goes. Besides, there might still be some of my men over in medical."

"Have you forgotten who is now in command here? I can have you physically put onto those ships if I so choose."

"You could, but you can't force us to take off. I won't leave you behind."

"It would be better for everyone if you did, General." She pauses for a moment, as if listening to a distant voice. "It's over. Time to go."


	12. Chapter 12

Rounding a corner, the group reaches the central landing bay. Upon their arrival the doors seem to automatically open, surprising the General and his men.

"We're being monitored General. My Queen is keeping track of us, she's making sure that we're safe."

Looking just inside the door for any movement, the General makes certain that it is clear. On his signal, his men enter the bay, keeping a careful watch for any signs of trouble. The General follows them and Johner and the others in turn follow him. Ripley and Theresa are the last to enter with Ripley actually being the last person to enter.

Clearing the doors, Ripley suddenly finds herself being grabbed from behind and feels cold metal being firmly pressed against her right temple. Everyone turns to see one of the General's hand picked soldiers holding her with one of the mercenary's weapons in his hand. Now they know who the traitor is.

"All of you," the man shouts, "against the wall, or this bitch doesn't live to see another day!"

Suddenly, everyone's attention, even the gunman's, is turned to the door as an alien fills the frame. The Queen has come to them. Her appearance has now changed. She is larger and now looks more like the Queens that Ripley remembers. No one can any longer doubt what Theresa's friend is- an alien Queen.

No one moves except Theresa, who goes over to the Queen as if nothing has changed and tucks herself into it's side. Seeing all this an unusual thought crosses Ripley's mind. Their relationship looks more like one of a parent and child with Theresa as the child. Ripley also finds herself with two other feelings as well. One feeling is that of envy and the other of jealousy. She has no time to dwell on these feelings, quickly dismissing them as the man recovers himself.

I'm getting out of this hellhole while I still can. If anyone tries to stop me, she dies!" he is still shouting as he begins to back over to one of the mercenary ships.

"Better look behind you, asshole," Johner warns him.

"Nice try, but it won't work."

From behind him now comes a hissing sound, very much like the sound an irate cat might make. Stopping in his tracks, the man looks over his shoulder and straight into the face of death, his death.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Ripley goes into action. She grabs his gun hand and forces it away from her head and frees herself from his hold. As she frees herself, the alien strikes. With the sound of the gun going off, the alien lifts him through the ceiling. The gun is still clutched in his hand.

Now free and with the alien gone, Ripley wonders where the shot might have gone. Since there are no alarms going off, she is fairly certain the base structure wasn't breached. Finally her eyes settle on Theresa and the alien Queen. Clearly she, as well as everyone else, can see that there is something wrong with them.

The Queen is on the floor and Theresa is pressing her hands onto it's chest. As Ripley approaches them she can see the creature's blood seeping through the woman's fingers and out from under her hands. Red in color, it's acidic nature is obvious as it eats the flooring where it has puddled up, but it does so, slowly. Between that, and the fact that it doesn't appear to be doing Theresa any harm, proof of it's low acid content.

Hurrying over to their side, Ripley touches them both, but can only feel Theresa. As she looks at Ripley there are tears in her eyes for her Queen.

"Please, help her Ripley," she almost begs.

"I don't know how to help. No one here knows how to help her," Ripley tells her as she tries to make her voice as comforting as she can.

"But she's dying!"

"I know."

Nothing more is said between the two women. They sit quietly beside the Queen, ignoring the melting flooring around them. The Queen then begins to move her arms, an effort that uses what little strength that she has left, and takes a hold of one of each woman's hands. Bringing them together, she forces one into the other and holds them that way. Though Theresa's hand is covered in the Queen's blood, no harm is done to either woman. The Queen then turns her head to Ripley and hisses softly.

"I understand," Ripley says, looking back at the Queen. "I'll do what I can for her."

Hearing Ripley's words, she releases their hands. Then, for one brief moment she touches Theresa's face, then drops the hand and dies. Almost immediately they hear the floor beneath them groan and start to give way. Moving quickly, Ripley pulls Theresa out of the area just as the floor buckles, dropping the Queen's body through it.

"NO!" Theresa screams as the body disappears.

Ripley holds on tightly to Theresa as she struggles to reach the area where the floor had just given way. Though the woman is much stronger now, she still is no match for Ripley as she continues to hold her tightly. Finally realizing that Ripley is not going to let her go, she settles on crying on Ripley's shoulder. As Ripley comforts her, neither woman is aware that the others are gathering around them. All remain silent.

From the landing bay behind them there suddenly comes several explosions. When the explosions began, the main doors closed, trapping many people behind it. The explosions open the bay up to space. When heads are counted they find that better than half of their group is lost, that includes those who came with Johner and Call.

Left outside the now ruined bay is only a handful of men. Besides the General, there are eight soldiers, Call, Johner, Ripley and Theresa. All know that there were some people held in the medical section but no one is sure how many are there, no one had bothered to count heads.

Once things settle down, the General and Johner look through an inspection window at the bay. Designed in case of such emergencies, the doors are pressure tight, with the viewing ports installed, allowing for visual inspections. They see that not only is the bay gone, so are the floors just below it as well.

"Looks pretty fucked up to me General," Johner says.

Without saying a word, the General turns from the doors and walks over to a communications panel. He attempts to use it but gets no reaction to his actions- the system is dead. Feeling totally frustrated and in need of doing something, he slams his fist into it.

"Damned system's shot," he says as he walks away from it.

Automatically the soldiers fall in behind him, followed closely by Johner and Call.

"Come on Ripley, we're moving," Johner tells her.

Ripley, who has been holding onto Theresa, lifts the woman's face to hers. From their physical contact, Ripley knows of her pain and grief. Now, looking into her eyes, she sees that they are filled with loneliness as well.

"Come on baby," Ripley tells her softly. "We've got to get moving."

Silently she nods her head and then both women stand up and follow the others.

Command center. As they enter cautiously, they find it in working order. The General and his men operate the stations in an attempt to learn the extent of the damages from the bay explosion. What they find is that they have been locked out of the system the password had been changed.

"General," Theresa speaks as she comes over to him. "My Queen changed the access code. We wanted no one to download the files on us. She was the only one who knew the code. I didn't want to know it."

"Here I go again," Call mutters as she comes forward. "I'll patch in manually."

Taking the chair that the General vacates for her, Call rolls up her left sleeve, then plugs herself into the system. With Ripley standing on one side and the General on the other, Call begins her search. As she runs her search, everyone in the room remains silent. Finally she gives them a report after only a couple of minutes.

"Besides the central landing bay being shot to hell, communications are also gone. It seems that the main core has been taken off line, only the secondary systems remain functioning."

"Try to get a reading on the aliens," the General directs. "We placed trackers on them just before they were placed into cryo. As long as any alien is alive we should be able to get a reading on it. The trackers are powered off the creatures own life energies."

"Standby," Call says, then again becomes quiet.

"If what you have told me is correct, and this equipment is reading things right, then there are nine of the bastards still alive," she finally reports.

With this now over, Call pulls the plug from her arm, stands, and then goes over to Theresa. Reaching her side, Call places a hand on her shoulder.

"While I was in there I found her access code. It was Theresa Ripley. You were her code Terri," Call tells her.

Call remains silent after this, allowing the words to settle in on her mind. As if in acceptance of what she has been told, Theresa only nods her head. Call is close enough to her to see a mixture of feelings play across the woman's face and wonders if she has done the right thing in telling her this.

"General, I've given computer control back to you," Call tells him as she leaves Theresa's side.

Everyone suddenly becomes silent as they hear something just outside the door to the center. As the doors open they expect the worst, everyone except for Ripley and Theresa. When a human face comes through the door, everyone relaxes. The face is that of Lieutenant Hunter, the General's aide. The majority of the medical staff quickly follows him, including Dr. Waters, as well as two more soldiers. Most of the soldiers had been with the General. All together twenty-four people crowd into a room designed for fifteen.

"Terri," the General says as he heads over to her. "How well can you control these aliens?"

"Alone…I can't," she replies, shaking her head at the same time.

"Shit!" Johner comments. "We're fucked then."

"Not yet," Ripley responds. "General, you have two people here who can feel these aliens now that they are out of cryo, and two intact bays. I suggest that we split into two groups and make for them. I'll watch over one group and Theresa watches over the other, kind of like an early warning system."

"A good idea Lieutenant," he answers. "Let's just hope that it works. Once we're in space, we can destroy the base from a safe distance."

"All that leaves is to decide who goes with whom," Johner adds.

Ripley, Johner, the General, Dr. Waters, four medics and four soldiers cautiously head for the north landing bay, while the other group heads south. Each is fully aware that they are on their own, what with the communications still being out, not realizing that Ripley and Theresa might be able to sense when each other is in danger.

As if walking on eggshells, Ripley's group continues with caution, making the trip feel a lot longer than it really is, and their destination farther away. Having the two hybrid women along helps the men feel a bit safer, but not by much.

Ripley carefully checks each corner that they come across, the alien part of her feeling for the aliens. Knowing that the humans who are with her are depending on her to warn them, only serves to make her task all the more important to her. It had taken her a while to learn how to coexist with the alien inside her and these men are now depending on that very part of her to keep them alive and somewhat safe.

Reaching the landing bay, they find the doors locked. The General goes over to the access panel and begins entering codes, but the doors remain closed. As a last effort he tries the alien Queen's code, but has the same measure of success.

"The panel's dead," he finally admits. "We'll have to run a bypass and hope that there is enough power still running through the wires to open it."

With a shake of her head in disbelief, Ripley goes over to the panel then calmly rips the cover off the wall. Then, with a smile on her face, she turns to the General.

"I thought I'd save you some time," she tells him as she moves aside.

Immediately one of the soldiers steps up to the panel and begins working with the wires. It doesn't take him long to get the door open, there is just enough current left to do it.

When the doors open, fuel fumes begin to fill the corridor and their noses, causing most of them to begin to choke. Ripley also feels the effects, but to a lesser degree. She is able to speak and so calls everyone back away from the doors. Fully aware that a single spark could cause a massive explosion, they leave the doors open as they quickly leave the area.

"Damn," the General finally manages to say when they are far enough away from the bay. "Everyone, head for the south bay, maybe they had better luck. We sure as hell aren't getting out here."


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Theresa, Call, Lieutenant Hunter, three medics and six soldiers head south. Like Ripley, Theresa is in the lead with Call and the Lieutenant following close behind. Though her movements are similar to Ripley's, hers are smoother, more relaxed.

Reaching the landing bay this group is faced with the same problems as Ripley's group. They make the same decisions but they have an advantage that the other group didn't have- Call. After removing the panel, Call comes over and wires herself into the system. It takes her only a moment to open the bay, and to quickly close it again as fuel vapors begin to leave it as well.

"We've got a problem," Hunter says, stating the obvious.

"No shit," Call says. "Maybe the other group had better luck. Those assholes sure as hell didn't want us following them."

"Call," Theresa interrupts, "we're being watched. We have to move. NOW!"

No one doubts her words as they move back towards the other group and the north bay.

The two groups meet up near the command center. As they see each other, they all believe that the other met with probably the same problems. The look on their faces and the smell of the fuel fumes help to tell the story to the other group. Quietly they all enter the command center, but Ripley has Theresa wait with her just outside the doors.

"Do you have any ideas why they are still waiting?" Ripley asks her.

"I would guess that it's because of the Queen's last order, just to watch us."

"But for how much longer?"

Theresa shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders, indicating that she has no idea. Together they enter the room and join the others who are busy trying to figure out what to do next. They all become quiet when the women enter the room. Everyone looks at them as if hoping that they might have a solution.

"Nice to see that you both have decided to join us," the General says sarcastically. "Any thoughts on what we might do next?"

Willing to let the others talk, Theresa fades into the background. Feeling very tired she goes into a corner and sits down on the floor. Closing her eyes, she hopes for some rest. Instead, her mind fills with images coming from the aliens. She feels their confusion over the loss of the Queen and their confusion over her last orders to just watch the humans, leave them alone.

As she feels them, she briefly feels another mind touch hers and then is quickly gone, only to return again much stronger. Too tired to resist, Theresa opens her mind and shares the images with Ripley, allowing her to see and feel what she is seeing and feeling. She relaxes with what is happening, allowing Ripley and the aliens a chance to feel each other through her in much the same way as the Queen had done for them. This gives Ripley a chance to learn more about the aliens as well as about herself and her past. More than she had planned to ever let anyone know.

While the others discuss possible plans, Ripley takes a moment to look over at Theresa. She watches as the woman goes over to a corner and lowers herself into it, looking very tired. Because the woman's face looks as if something is bothering her, Ripley goes over to her as she falls asleep and kneels down close to her side. Moving a bit of hair away from her face so Ripley can look at her better. This slight touch causes a brief image of the aliens to appear in Ripley's mind and she wonders why.

Curiosity urging her on, Ripley firmly places her hands on the woman's cheeks, drawing both women closer to each other in the process. Unsure what is happening and who will be in control, Ripley takes a chance and concentrates on the images of the aliens. Willing both herself and Theresa to relax with what is happening, she learns more about the aliens and about Theresa.

Ripley's actions cause everyone to switch their attention to them as the others quietly watch the interaction between the two women. Johner and Call go over to them, so that they can be close in case there is trouble between the two. Standing on each side of the women, Call gently and lightly rests her hand Ripley's shoulder, but it does not distract her. The entire event lasts for only a minute before Ripley breaks the contact. Taking a few deep breaths before she stands, Ripley rises to her feet, ignoring Johner and Call, and heads straight for Dr. Waters, her face full of rage.

Reaching him, she grabs him by the throat with both hands and pins him solidly to a wall. General Harris wastes no time coming to his aid but is no match for the enraged Ripley. The others wisely stay back.

"You son of a bitch!" Ripley screams. "Why did you do it?"

With both of her hands around his throat and himself pinned firmly against a wall, the Doctor finds it very difficult to breathe, let alone talk.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he croaks.

"Don't fuck with me! You know damned well what the hell I'm talking about. It's the reason why my daughter wants you dead!"

Ripley is so angry that she isn't fully aware of all that she is saying. Johner and Call catch her words and smiles spread across their faces, thankful that Theresa still seems to be sleeping.

"Okay, release me and I'll try to explain."

"You'd better do more than try!" Mad enough to kill and fighting that desire, she releases her hold on his throat but still keeps him pinned firmly against the wall.

"It was a question of reproduction. I wanted to find out if breeding was possible, if there would be any complications or further mutations."

Now it is the General's turn to get angry.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Why didn't you inform me about any of this?" he demands.

"Because I wanted to know. It was my idea, I thought you would refuse to let me do it."

"Damned right I wouldn't have allowed it! Not on my base!"

"How about you telling everyone about your little experiment." Ripley requests as she increases the pressure on his chest.

"Back off and I'll tell." So she does.

"The embryos in cryo are not just the extras that we had frozen, there are others. I harvested some of Number Four's ova and used genetic material from the General and myself to fertilize them. Technically, they're Number Four's children. When she was strong enough I had planned to implant them in her and study the results."

Now the General is furious. As he tries to get to the Doctor, Ripley prevents him from doing anything.

"Why? You told me it was my DNA that you spliced into Ripley's in order to create her. For your sake, I hope you lied to me about that."

"No General," he says calmly "I didn't lie to you about that. Twenty-five percent of her human DNA came from you. The rest is from Ripley. Yours is the only foreign DNA that I spliced into Ripley's."

Everyone is so interested in what is being said that no one is aware that the shouting has woken Theresa. Rising from the corner that she is in, she moves past a surprised Johner and Call. Making her way over to the trio, none of them are aware of her until she takes a firm hold on Ripley's wrists. Harris and Ripley look at her in surprise for a moment before Ripley releases the Doctor, though she is confused at Theresa's actions.

"It doesn't matter any more. They should be gone by now. When we thawed out the others, we shut down all the cryo projects. They should have thawed out about an hour ago." She still sounds very tired and there is no anger in her voice. Next she turns to the General.

"Knowing what you knew about me Sir, why just a number and not a name?"

"Because it was already too personal Terri. If I had to terminate you, I already doubted that I could have obeyed that order. Giving you a real name, become more involved than I already was, that would have insured I could not have followed that order, if it had come to that. That's the main reason I didn't fight command to bring Ripley here. I didn't want to have to destroy you."

She stands there quietly for a minute, collecting her thoughts, coming to terms with what the General has just told her. She had suspected the truth but until she had heard it, she wasn't ready to believe, or accept it. She then looks to Ripley.

"Ripley… I'm sorry about causing you to be brought into all this," she says as she lowers her head.

Confused by her words, Ripley just looks at her.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I need to do something." Johner says, then as an afterthought. "What are we going to do with that bastard?" he asks as he indicates to the Doctor.

"Let Theresa decide," Ripley responds. "She's the one he has hurt the worst."

"It would be fitting if he were turned over to the aliens," she begins "but he is …human. General, if any of you survive, then let your courts of law deal with what he has done here."

"Around here Terri, I am the law," he answers back. "But we need everyone to help if we hope to survive. So at least for now, he stays alive and with us."

"All right then General, any suggestions?" Ripley asks.

"First," he then looks at Theresa "Terri, who is in command here?"

"You and Ripley have been since my Queen died. I thought you had realized that already."

"I just wanted to be sure. Now, we need to get some real weapons, not these pieces of shit that we have.

'My plan is for a few of us to go out and find as many of the mercenary's weapons as we can. I don't think it will be easy if these fuckers are as smart as I believe they are. They should have most of the guns hidden away."

As the General goes over his plan, Theresa wanders off and returns to the corner that she had been in only a few minutes ago. Curling into it and onto the floor, she is soon back to sleep.

Call is the first to notice her. With Johner, the General and Ripley busy planning things, she decides to see what is wrong with Theresa. As she heads over to her, she sees that the Doctor has noticed Theresa as well and is also going over to her. Both reach her at the same time.

Working from instinct and training, the Doctor begins to examine her under Call's careful watch. He checks her pulse and respiration. Though she does not wake, she does move slightly, as if trying to get away from his touch. He then looks at her eyes, finding them fixed and dilated. Call cannot help seeing there is something wrong, judging by the look in the doctor's face.

"Call, we need Ripley over here, now. I think we have a problem here."

Without saying a word, Call goes straight over to Ripley and brings her over to him.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"This isn't a normal sleep she's in. Without drugs, she shouldn't be down this deep."

Ripley notices that Theresa isn't responding to his touch or to the sound of everyone's voices and realizes that he is right.

"Do you have anything to do with this?" she almost shouts as she grabs one of his arms. "Programmed her to shut down as some sort of a fail-safe or self-destruct program?"

"NO! We wanted her to survive- I needed her to survive. This seems more as if she's giving up, choosing not to continue."

"Shit, she said 'if any of you survive', not 'if any of us'. You just might be right Doctor," Ripley says.

Looking at Theresa, Ripley briefly thinks about all that she has been through in the last few days. Her arrival into her life, the fights, the death of the one piece of comfort to her, the only family she knew- the Queen, and the revealing of her pain and rage about the embryos. Because of all this she feels the Doctor is most likely correct and she is trying to shut herself down. Realizing that there is only one way left to reach her, Ripley prepares herself to enter Theresa's mind again.

By now everyone has gathered around Theresa and Ripley, wondering what has happened, and what is going to happen. They watch as Ripley sits down near Theresa and then reaches out with both hands, placing them on Theresa's cheeks and neck, lifting her face slightly upwards. As Ripley becomes still, they see Theresa stir a little, her movements looking as if she is trying to get away from what is happening to her, but no longer having the strength to do so. Once they are sure that there is nothing that they can do, Harris and eleven men leave to try to find some weapons. They leave Lieutenant Hunter behind to keep a watch on everyone.

Ripley finds herself in Theresa's mind. Gone are the images of the aliens, only darkness prevails. When she finally locates Theresa, she is surprised at what she finds. Theresa's appearance shifts, one moment being the woman she recognizes, then becoming that of a seven or eight year old girl. It is the child that she first deals with, for it is the one shape that she stays as for the longest times.

"Hello Theresa."

"Go away Ripley. I don't want you here!"

"Aren't you lonely?" she asks as she lowers herself to the eye level of the child then gently touches the child's shoulders, turning her so that they can look into each other's face.

"So, this is why there was two voices, why I heard a child," Ripley says as she wipes away some of the child's tears from her face. "It explains a lot. So, are you lonely?"

"I just want to sleep Ripley, no more bad dreams. Sleep and never wake up."

"Why?"

Suddenly the image shifts and the child becomes the woman. This causes Ripley to release her hold on the woman and to stand up.

"You tell me why not. It's all over for me, there's nothing more for me to fight for. I'm all that's left of this project now, so let me go as well."

"What about your friends?"

"What friends? I have no friends."

"Call wouldn't agree with that. She's taken a liking to you and so has Johner."

Once more the child stands before her.

"You lie!" she shouts as tears again form in her eyes. "No one likes me. They only want me around so that they can use me! They don't care about me!" Then, in a softer, sadder voice, "Nobody cares about me."

"I care… Terri. That's why I came, why I'm here with you now."

Sobbing, the child looks at Ripley, then throws her arms around Ripley's neck and holds on tightly, giving in to her need for comfort. In response, Ripley puts her arms around her and holds her close, comforting her as best as she can, surprised at the warm way she feels at this contact, almost ready to cry herself. As she holds the child, she suspects that this is Theresa's emotional and human side, and the adult is her intellect, her memory, and her alien side. She continues to hold her until such a time as she feels her pushing away from her. Letting go of her, she looks again into the face of the woman.

"Who put you up to this?" She doesn't try to hide the doubt and disbelief that she is feeling as she wipes her face dry. "Why are you trying to save me?"

"No one put me up to this. I'm here because I want to be here, and it seemed the only way for me to reach you." She says as she comes to her feet. "If you don't want me here, then why are you letting me stay? Go ahead, send me away if that is what you want."

"I can't. You're the one who initiated this, the one in control. Not me. I repeat, why are you here?" she now demands.

"Because I don't want to lose you, damn it!" Ripley snaps.

With these words that she hadn't been prepared to say and just barely was willing to admit to herself, Ripley has said it out loud for both to hear, for both to know and hopefully, for both to accept.

"You don't know me, Ripley," she says softly, sadly. Ripley's response had taken her completely off guard.

"No, I don't know you, but I want to."

"I don't understand. Why would you want to know me?"

"Because I do, and how about calling me Ellen?

"Neither of us was given a chance for a normal life, but we are a part of each other. I have the advantage of living before and of keeping many those memories, but not you. You woke up as an adult, with memories not really your own, and to a face that is a stranger to your mind. I want to help you. Believe it or not, we're both the victims here."

"I'm not sure how to take this offer of yours. I know you didn't want to be this involved."

"Not at first. But things, and people, change.

"I'm not looking for a mother-daughter relationship, we've been robbed of any chance for that, but we can become friends. Your Queen felt that we needed each other, wanted me to help you. She was the one who gave you my last name, wanted you to be a part of me. I believe she was right in doing this.

"She didn't have to ask me to help you. I had decided that the first time I saw you standing on your own two feet. And I still want to help you, if you'll let me."

"I can't make you any promises…Ellen. Not right now."

"I'm not looking for any Terri."

Call, Johner, and the Doctor watches as, after several minutes having passed, Ripley lowers her hands from Terri's face as she opens her eyes. Backing up, they allow the two women some space to stand. Once Ripley is on her feet, she extends a hand to Terri and helps her to stand. The others can see that something has changed and that things feel different between the two women, but no is sure what, why, or how it has happened.

"Where's Harris?" Ripley asks as she looks around.

"Him and some of his men went looking for the mercenaries' weapons," Johner tells her. Then, in a subdued voice "What's up between you two?"

"Let's say that we had a meeting of the minds."

"Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he says with confusion in his voice.

"Just what I said Johner, a meeting of the minds."

Slowly the General and five men move through the corridors, cautiously checking everywhere for the aliens. Without Ripley or Theresa along to serve as an early warning system, they know the aliens could be on top of them in a moment. This causes them to be very jumpy and nervous. Adding to that is the fact that their hunt has been almost fruitless and they face the prospect of going back empty handed. All that they have found so far is empty weapons.

Accepting that the aliens must have taken the loaded weapons and have hidden them, they still continue the search. They continue to head towards the north landing bay, aware of the fuel vapors that are filling the corridor. When the smell begins to become strong, the General orders them to return to command center.

"As you all can smell, we don't dare to go any farther. I believe we won't find anything more anyway, so we might as well head back."

Following his lead, they all begin to head back to the command center. After back tracking only a few yards, all hell begins to break loose as aliens begin dropping from overhead. Ignoring the possibility of igniting the fuel vapors, they begin to fire their shock rifles, with little effect. The General still has the gun that Theresa had given him and he puts it to use, quickly spending what few rounds that were still in it.

Screams fill the corridors as the humans fight for their lives. Occasionally there is the sound of a dying or injured alien as the General manages to find a mark. In the end there is only silence. Filling the corridor are the dropped stun rifles that the men had been carrying, the occasional acid burn from a wounded alien, and the now empty gun that Terri had given to the General.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

In command center Johner is rapidly becoming impatient as he paces the floor. Reaching the end of his rope, he grabs one of the stun rifles that had been left behind as well as Ripley.

"Let's go. I'm tired of waiting around for them to return."

As Ripley begins to follow him out, she gives a quick look to Call and Terri.

"Take care of her Call, and don't let that bastard anywhere near her." She says as she indicates towards the doctor.

"You got it Ripley. Just be sure that you both come back."

Ripley and Johner have not been gone more than a few short minutes when Terri becomes very alarmed.

"Call," she suddenly says, her eyes wide in fear, "they're in trouble."

"Who?"

"The General and his men, they're being attacked."

Though her eyes are wide in fear, her voice is cold and distant, almost as if she were in a dream. Call believes that she is feeling the aliens in much the same way that she remembers Ripley doing.

"Then Johner and Ripley are walking right into the middle of it. They've only been gone a couple of minutes, if we hurry we might be able to stop them." Call says as she heads for the door, grabbing Terri by the arm as she goes.

"Wait!" Waters calls out. "You can't take Number Four out there."

"Shut the hell up!" Both women say in unison, and then look at each other in surprise as they head for the door.

"We have to hurry, the aliens- Ellen and Johner, they're almost there," Terri says as they rush out of command center.

Heading north in a hurry, Johner and Ripley remain alert and cautious. Nearing the landing bay they come across a group of stun rifles strewn around and a couple of caps. Realizing that they are too late, they begin to head back. Both notices that the fuel fumes are getting stronger and closer to the command center.

"Johner, we're in trouble. They're coming back. I can feel them, they're getting very close."

"Then what the fuck are we dragging our feet for?" he says as they increase their pace.

Breaking into a run, they are stopped when, after rounding a corner, they meet an alien. As they look each other over, it soon becomes apparent that it intends to make Johner it's target. Realizing that it is after Johner, Ripley attacks the alien before it has a chance to act.

"RUN!" she yells as she attacks.

"No way!" he shouts back as he joins in the attack.

"Don't be an asshole Johner, get away from here!" she yells as she struggles with the alien.

Johner ignores her orders at first but when he's knocked several feet down the corridor he thinks better of it.

"You win Ripley, I'll be back!" he yells as he begins to leave.

Rounding a corner he literally runs into Call and Terri. Without his saying a word the women realize that Ripley must be in trouble and increase their pace. After rounding the corner that Johner had just come around, they see Ripley and the alien in combat.

"Mom," Terri says in a voice that is almost inaudible, but Call hears it. Then, in a louder voice "NO! Leave her alone, you can't have her!" she yells as she charges the alien.

Running at full speed, she tackles the alien, throwing it off balance and onto the floor. With the alien now off Ripley, Call rushes in to help. Johner chooses to stay out of the way.

With this turn of events, the alien rethinks it's position. Deciding that the odds are now against it, it quickly leaves empty handed.

"You three all right?" Johner asks as he nears the women.

"Yeah Johner, we're fine," Call replies. "Why wasn't your sorry ass over here helping us?"

"It looked like a family matter to me."

"And here I thought you liked a good fight," Ripley says as she and Terri go over to him.

"Hey, I like a good fight, but I also like living and keeping my skin intact."

"Which might not be for too much longer. Let's get back to command, before that thing returns and brings along some of it's friends," Ripley suggests as she heads down the corridor.

Returning to command center, everyone but Dr. Waters gathers around the returning people. Guessing from their actions and that they have returned alone, the rest figure out that the search groups have been lost. They are now looking to Ripley, hoping that she might have some ideas.

"It looks as if both scout groups have been lost." Ripley tells them, verifying their suspicions. "Hopefully the General is dead, as well as the others. It's better for them that way."

"What next Ripley?" the Doctor asks from the back of the room. "There's twelve of us left, and only you and Number Four have any kind of a chance of surviving."

From the moment he said number Call is on the move. Reaching the Doctor, she slams him as hard as she can against a wall. No one moves to stop her.

"Her name is Terri asshole! I suggest that you remember it and use it."

Finished, Call releases him and backs away. Finding himself released, he straightens his clothes, brushing himself off.

"Very good…Terri, getting someone else to rough me up for you."

His words and tone of voice bring immediate actions from both Call and Ripley. Before they can touch him, Terri calls them back.

"No one touches him!" Terri shouts. Seeing that they have stopped, she then continues in a normal voice. "Don't you see? He wants us to kill him, like I wanted to be killed. He doesn't want to continue, doesn't want to face his crimes, or the monsters that he created."

She then walks over to him and looks him in the eyes.

"How is it said? The shoe's on the other foot now. It doesn't feel too good, does it? You tried your damnedest to keep me alive, now it's my turn to do the same for you."

The last facade of bravery and courage finally falls from his face as they see his shoulders drop. He now looks like a man who has been beaten both physically and spiritually. From his actions, no one doubts the accuracy of her words.

"Damn it bitch, why are you doing this to me?" he asks with words that are braver than they sound.

"If I'm a bitch then blame yourself. You're the one who made me," she says as she walks away from him.

"We need to get out of here," Ripley begins, speaking to everyone. "This place is filling with fumes and could blow at any moment. I for one don't want to be here when that happens.

"We need to try to purge the other bay and hope that there's a ship left when we're done," Ripley pauses for a moment before continuing.

"The way I see it we really don't have much of a choice. Either we face the aliens and the risk of an explosion or we try to get the hell out of here. I vote for getting the hell out."

It doesn't take them long to agree with her suggestion and agree to follow her commands. With this decision made, they leave the command center and head towards the south bay. Ripley and Johner take the lead with Call and Terri bringing up the rear.

Reaching the bay, Call comes forward and again patches into the system. Once inside the system, she becomes somewhat distant and her voice becomes slightly mechanical sounding.

"Safety precautions over-ridden, exterior bay doors will open in two minutes. Caution, there is insufficient time to completely depressurize the bay," Call reports.

When the doors open, they all feel the base rock. With the opening of the doors, everything that wasn't secured down is blown out into space. It only takes a couple of minutes for the bay to become clear of everything including the fuel fumes. Call then closes the doors and begins to pressurize the bay.

It takes a while to restore the environment. During this wait Call remains plugged into the system, monitoring the aliens as best as she can.

"They are still quiet Ripley, but not too far from here, if I'm reading the system correctly," Call informs her. "But for how much longer?"

"Let's just hope that it's long enough for us to get the hell away from here," Ripley responds. "How much longer before we can get in there?"

"It's ready now," Call informs her as she opens the doors and then unplugs herself from the system.

As the doors open, Ripley cautiously enters. The fuel fumes are gone, but so is almost everything else, including the ships. Feeling frustrated, Ripley walks around the bay while the others do the same. They look for anything that might help them.

After searching for several minutes, Ripley comes across a closed maintenance hangar. Signaling for Call to join her, she waits for her to come and patch herself back into the system and to open the doors. What they find inside gives them hope for there is one ship inside, but it is a small one. The Lieutenant and another soldier go into the ship to check the maintenance logs. When they return, they tell the others what they have learned.

"The good news is all the repairs on this ship are complete," Lieutenant Hunter informs them. "But they have not yet been checked. Also it hasn't been serviced. No fuel, oil, or hydraulics are on board. She's a dry ship. It might as well have been blown into space as well for all the good it will do us."

"We'll just have to keep looking then, until we find what we need," Ripley says. "I'm not ready to give up yet."

"There is one other problem Ripley," Hunter informs her. "This ship is designed to carry only eight people at the most, there's twelve of us."

"Listen, if these fuckers come after us then it won't make much of a difference, will it?"

"I get your point," he says, somewhat abased.

With Call's help all the maintenance hangars are opened and the search continues in earnest. All the drums they find are carefully checked for any fluids. As they begin to find what they need, they service the ship, getting it ready to launch. Unfortunately, at about that time, Ripley and Terri feel the aliens begin to move.

"Move it!" Ripley shouts. "They're coming!"

With everyone moving as fast as they can, they continue servicing the ship. They waste no time, taking Ripley's warning seriously. They know that if the aliens arrive before they are ready to leave then some of them, or maybe even all of them, might not make it out alive.

It is during this flurry of activity that the aliens come crashing down on them. Eight aliens now stand in their midst, then begin attacking anything that moves. The doctor turns to run but finds himself facing an alien. Swiftly it attacks him and carries his body away.

Knowing that they have no choice but to fight with only what is on hand, the men grab tools, fire axes, and whatever else that happens to be easily accessible. The aliens might exceed them in brute strength, but the humans are fighting for their lives.

"Call!" Johner yells over the noise. "Get Ripley, the Kid, and yourself onto that ship and get it hot. I'll join you when I can!"

"Forget it Johner," Ripley yells back. "You and Call get the ship hot. Terri and I will be all right. Just get that crate ready to go!"

As he goes to do as she asks, she turns to Terri.

"Ready Terri?" she asks.

"Let's do it," comes Terri's reply.

With these two women joining the fight, the odds become a bit more even. Their physical strength and human determination helps to balance the odds. The fighting is fierce but when it is done, the aliens have retreated with a couple of them dead and burning through the floor. The problem of too many humans has also been resolved. Now there are only seven left alive. The Doctor, having been one of the first to be taken by the aliens is no longer a problem for them.

Now, those who had fought and survived, Ripley, Terri, Hunter, one other soldier and a medic, board the ship. Ripley and Hunter take the flight controls while Call takes another seat and patches into the computers. The other four take seats in the mid-section of the ship and prepare for departure. Call, through the computers, has the bay depressurized and the launch doors opened.

As the ship is moved into launch position, Ripley feels nervous. Something just doesn't feel right, but she decides not to say anything just yet to the others. She wonders if Terri is feeling the same thing, but the woman is too far off to ask and seems too excited to notice much of anything anyway.

Finally things are ready and the ship launches, and none too soon. When they reach an altitude of approximately seven thousand feet, the force of the base exploding rocks the ship. Looking out through whatever porthole that they can, they watch as the base is destroyed.

"There's another one for us good guys," Johner comments. "I'm going up front, check on Ripley and Call."

On his way forward, he passes Ripley who is heading towards the back. Stopping beside each other, they both look over to Terri. With the medic on one side and the soldier on the other, she looks as if she were still being guarded. Her actions leave one with another impression. She acts like an excited child as she looks out of a porthole and back at the now destroyed base. As Ripley watches her, the feeling that something is wrong again comes over her.

As she watches, there comes a sudden, bloody wave of activity as an alien, the last one, drops down from overhead and onto the trio. Swiftly it attacks those who are under it. With blood flying, Ripley has no time to react, so she watches as the three fall to the deck in a bloody pile.

"NO!" she screams as she sees all three sink to the deck of the ship.

"Shit!" is all Johner manages to get out as he too sees what is happening.

For a moment the alien's attention becomes focused on Ripley, but does not move. Up front, her scream is heard by Hunter and Call, alerting them to the fact that something is wrong. Quickly Call begins to disconnect herself from the computers but is stopped by Hunter.

"You can do us more good by staying hooked into the computers. If we do have one of those bastards on board then you'll know what to do if we can't get rid of it."

With that he heads for the back of the ship.

Reaching the back, Hunter stops beside Johner. The two men watch what looks like a stare down between Ripley and the alien. With Hunter's appearance, the alien is taken a bit by surprise and moves back a couple of steps. Seeing this, Ripley starts moving in, trying to get it to move farther towards the back of the ship and away from the pile of bodies.

As the men look at the mess, they see it move slightly. Hoping to find someone still alive, the men go over to the pile. As they reach it, Johner sees an arm barely move- a woman's arm.

"Shit!" he says as he and Hunter begin to separate her from the corpses, forgetting for the moment about the acid that is in her blood. Pulling her free, he quickly makes sure she is alive.

"She's still alive Ripley!" Johner tells her.

Looking back for a second, Ripley notices what Johner is talking about as well as notices that there seems to be no reaction to the blood that is all about them. Just as quickly, she returns her attention to the alien.

"Take care of her Johner!" she tells him as she continues her advance.

"No problem Ripley. Just get rid of that fucker will you?"

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do? Dance with it?"

Johner returns his full attention to Terri. Finally he remembers the blood, and starts to look for any reactions, but finds none. With her clear of the mess, he begins wiping the blood from her face, causing her to stir and moan.

"Shit Kid you had me scared," he says with an unusual amount of tenderness in his voice as he sees her eyes begin to open.

Ripley has been concentrating on the alien, trying to force it back farther; ignoring what Johner is doing, knowing that he will take care of Terri. Behind her, Hunter has been watching her actions and tries to figure out what she is up to. It doesn't take him long to realize that she is heading for the rear loading ramp. Thinking that she might be going to try to blow it out of the ship rear hatch, he quickly secures himself near a control panel and yells out a warning.

"Hold on everyone, we're going to blow it out the rear hatch!"

Hearing his warning up front, Call buckles herself into her chair. In the back Johner does his best to secure himself and Terri. He then tosses two securing straps over to Hunter who then tries to get a strap over to Ripley, but she is just outside of his reach and extremely busy.

Once Ripley is sure that the alien is close enough to the hatch, she has Hunter open it. With alarms going off as the hatch opens, unsecured items begin flying towards, and out, the hatch, Ripley does her best to grab hold of something. She manages to get a good hold onto a bulkhead support near the hatch, managing to stop herself just barely inside the doors.

The alien also makes a wild grab for anything as it begins to go out the hatch. It finally grabs a hold of Ripley's legs, just below her knees. It ignores her attempts to dislodge it as it begins to pull itself back into the ship along her legs, holding on tightly as it does so.

Knowing that she has to get it off the ship so that the others can survive, Ripley decides to let go of the support that she is holding onto. Just as she lets go, she finds that someone has grabbed a hold of her wrists and is holding onto her- tightly. Looking up, she sees Johner has grabbed her, preventing her from doing what she was going to do. At the same time she also feels someone against her back. Looking back as best as she can, she sees Terri trying to break the alien's hold. Straps to the bulkhead fasten both her and Johner tightly, allowing them free use of their hands. Terri, knowing that they are fighting time and decompression, finally resorts to a very child-like action. In desperation, she bites the alien in one of the few weak areas that it has- it's wrists. With a scream of pain, it releases it's hold on Ripley and finds itself flying off the ship and into space.

Quickly the hatch is closed and pressure restored to the ship. As the hatch closes, Ripley, Johner and Terri crash to the floor with Ripley on the bottom. Ripley strikes her head against the bulkhead as they all fall.

As they begin to get up, Terri realizes that there is something wrong with Ripley. They see that she is not moving. Terri gathers her up into her arms, and moves the hair from her face. In the process, Terri's hand becomes covered with blood- Ripley's blood. Having no knowledge of first-aid, she's at a loss as to what to do. Holding up her hand for the men to see the blood, she asks for help, telling him why.

"She's hurt, I don't know how to help. They never programmed me with any first-aid."

"We can't touch her Terri," Johner tells her. "It's that fucking acid that's in her blood and yours. You have to find where she's cut and try to stop the bleeding before it eats through the hull of this ship. You can stop the bleeding by pressing your hand firmly onto the wound."

As she begins to look for the wound, Johner says something else, only quieter.

"At least now there's someone who can help her."

Emotionally upset, Terri finds that she cannot sense Ripley's mind. She does manage to find the wound and it is still bleeding. Doing as Johner had told her, she places her hand over the wound. With Ripley's natural healing abilities helping her, she quickly manages to stop the bleeding. She then removes her hand and wipes the blood off on a sleeve of her clothes, which results in them beginning to smoke and dissolve from the acid. Terri never is even slightly aware of it for it has done her no harm and her concern is for Ripley.

"Johner I can't feel her mind, I'm too upset. I don't know if she'll be all right," Terri tells him, her voice on the edge of crying.

"Ripley's tough Kid," he tells her as he touches her cheek trying to comfort her. "She's a fighter. She'll be fine, just wait and see."

"I can't loose her too Johner. She's brought me too far, made me want to continue. She even cared enough to give me a name."

She lowers her head, resting her cheek on the top of Ripley's head and closes her eyes, shutting out everything around her.

"Damn it Ellen Ripley," she says, her voice is just barely above a whisper, Johner can only barely hear what she is saying for it's so quiet, "don't leave me like this. I'm not ready yet to make it on my own." Then in an even softer, slightly shaky voice. "I need you mom."

With her eyes closed, Terri doesn't see Ripley's eyes open as she speaks, nor is she aware of Ripley reaching up to touch her. Feeling a hand on her face, Terri opens her eyes, lifts her head and looks down on a smiling and awake Ripley. The smile that spreads across her face tells Johner and Hunter a lot as they also smile at what they see.

"I need you too Terri. I heard you call me 'mom'. You know I think I could become used to being called that again."

"If this don't fucking beat all," Johner comments. "Now there's two Ripleys to deal with. Maybe these assholes will finally give it all up."

"I don't think so," Hunter says. "Just before you arrived on the base there was a message saying that they had found the original derelict ship on LV-426. It's buried under tons of rock, but they plan to dig it out and try to salvage at least a part of it's cargo. It seems the radiation has lowered enough for people to return there. Though no one is sure just how that ship managed to survive the blast and the rock fall."

With help from Johner and Terri, Ripley comes to her feet and goes over to him.

"You'd better not be fucking with us about this," she tells him.

"After all this? Hell NO! The report is legit, they found it."

"Then I have to go back one more time. Try and stop them before it's too late and starts all over again." There is a great deal of sadness in her voice as she realizes what it all means to her.

"Maybe so Ripley, but you won't be going alone," Johner tells her.

As the four people head towards the flight station, Ripley leans on Johner and Terri and wonders if this is ever going to stop. Feeling thankful for the fact that she now has a family, and for a daughter that she thought she would never have, Ripley smiles inwardly. A family that she thought she would never have again because of what she had been remade into. She also wonders how long it will last before this too will be taken away from her. If this relationship is allowed to last, maybe someday Terri and herself might have a chance to truly get to know one another, once the madness has ended, if it ever does end.

_END_


End file.
